Monster's Resurgence
by AJR3333
Summary: It is said that those that wield great power will never find peace. For they are always sought after for who they are or the very power they wield. Then, there are beings that wield so much power that they were never meant to lose; never ALLOWED to be defeated. These beings are monsters...
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

 _AN: Keep in mind that this is my first fanfiction, so please forgive me for any errors that may occur._

 _I do not own anything other than my OC and my idea for this story._

Chapter One: Resurgence

 _A wise man once said that those who have power are destined for everlasting suffering. In nature, beings with power attract other beings of equal-if not-greater power. These beings are destined to fight and die, forever in a cycle of pain and bloodshed._

 _Every once in a while, one creature comes on top, breaking all expectations and takes the mantle of Most Powerful. This being is a monster. Soon enough this monster will become the pariah and will be hunted for either it's power or its head. Then the cycle will continue once again…._

 _…_

 _Drip…drip…drip…_

A constant downpour of life-giving liquid drizzled downwards onto the streets of a small town in Japan. It was as if the sky felt sorrow, for the ground was too dry. A young boy laid on the cold, unforgiving ground of a dark alley. The ground was soaked with a vile mix of mud, rain, and blood.

' _Blood?_ ', half-lidded eyes stared across the ground that laid before them. Dull, pupil-less, grey eyes then slowly gazed on the trail of blood to it's source. _'My blood?'_ , the young boy, using the little bit of strength his body had, lifted his upper body up until he was on his knees.

After a small bout of dizziness he finally took the time to analyze his condition, _'Multiple lacerations ranging from both minor to severe on legs, arms, back, torso, and face. All of my ribs are either cracked or broken,'_ he touched his back with his one good arm, _'Ugh, spinal cord is nearly severed by the cut that went the deepest. The ligaments in my left arm are torn, it's useless now.'_ He raised his right hand to his head, where he can feel his blood trailing down from beyond his forehead and in his scalp, _'Skull cracked open slightly, bouts of dizziness most likely from brain hemorrhaging.'_

He paused in his inspection to take in his surroundings, _'How did I get here?...Where even is 'here'?'_ , he brought up his only good hand into his vision, not all that surprised that it was coated in dirt and blood, _'Better question, how am I even alive?'_

He didn't understand, with this much damage done to him, why wasn't he howling in agony? Instead, he only felt a dull, throbbing ache. How hasn't he already bled out? How was he even able to feel everything below his waist with a nearly severed spine? What could have done this to him?

"Ugh!" _'That doesn't matter right now,'_ the young boy shakily got to his feet, _'I have to find someplace to recover.'_

Each step he took caused his vision to shake and his body to grow weaker. Signs of the hemorrhaging getting worse as he exerted his nearly broken body to the alley way exit. Just as he reached the opening, his body finally gave out on him.

 _'Damn! I don't think I'm going to make it-'_ , his thoughts ceased as he finally succumbed to unconsciousness.

…

 _'I wonder what Mommy's gonna make for dinner tonight?',_ a young and innocent Takeru Oyama thought as he walked home with his mom down the sidewalk in the heavy rain. He was especially glad he got to see Haruko again at practice today. His mom saw the blush that appeared on his face and smiled mischievously.

"Hmm~, Takeru, what's that blush you have on your face for, huh?", she leaned closer to him to get a better look on his face, "Is it that you're thinking about little Haruko again?" She pulled on his cheek a little bit.

"Huh?! Ew! No, she's just my friend! There's no way I'll think of her like that!", Takeru crossed his arms, looking away in a huff, "I still think girls are gross!"

 _'If you're going to be anything like your father when he was younger, you won't be thinking like that for long~.'_ , Atsuma giggled to herself as she kept one hand on the umbrella and placed the other on her cheek, "Ah~! To be so young and in love! To think that you've already started favoring older women as well…"

"MOM!"

Their playful moment was put to an abrupt end when they both heard a wet, slap of flesh on concrete. Their attention was brought to a heavily injured young boy that had just collapsed on the sidewalk outside of an alley. The boy looked like he had just come out of a blender; he had no shirt and what was left of his pants was only enough to protect his modesty.

And the blood….

 _'S...so much blood. How could this have happened?!'_ With widened, frantic eyes Atsuma's maternal instincts took over. She spun on her heel and kneeled down in front of Takeru at such a speed that blinking would have caused an observer to miss the movement.

She took hold of Takeru by the shoulders with a tight grip, forcing him to look at only her, "Takeru! Takeru, look at me-Takeru! Eyes right here, okay?" After getting his attention, she brought her voice down to a calm tone, "Okay Takeru, I'm going to need you to turn around while I make sure that boy's going to be alright, understand?" Takeru shakily nodded his head, worrying her a bit, _'He must be in shock from just seeing such a gruesome scene.'_

With Takeru taken care of, Atsuma handed the umbrella to him as she ran to the unconscious boy. As she turned the boy's body over she felt the cold rain soak through her clothing. She placed two fingers to the boy's neck…and waited…

…

…

 _…bu-dump…_

Atsuma's eyes widened as she bore witness to a miracle.

 _To be continued…._

...

 _AN: Well, ladies and gentlemen, this the end to the first chapter and I've got to say: I really don't know how many words are in this chapter. I'm using Microsoft Word on my tablet and for some reason it doesn't have a word counter._

 _As you can tell, this is my very first fanfiction and I would like to think that I started well. I do not have a beta, but, I would like to have a person to fix any errors or holes that pop up. It would also help to have someone that knows lore on things and to spin ideas for the stories I make off of._

 _So, like for any other story: please leave a review if you feel the need to. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Flames will be ignored. And please, whatever you do, DON'T lie to me._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

 _AN: I do not own anything but my OC and my idea_ f _or the story._

 _Alright let's get on with the story!_

 **Chapter Two: Miracle or Abomination**

It had been a few days since Atsuma rescued the young broken boy on that fateful, rainy day. Both doctors and nurses were completely baffled when they found out the boy was still alive. The astonishment didn't last long as the men and women were quick to get the boy on a bed and into the nearest emergency room. Their pace turned from urgent to _frantic_ once the monitors finally picked up the boy's absolutely _slow_ heartbeat.

The operation itself was one of the most stressful the staff had ever faced. Everybody's hearts practically stopped when the young boy flat-lined on the monitors. Medical personnel scrambled to bring the child back. It was a strange experience; having to give _two_ shots of epinephrine to child no older than ten years. Doctors had to be extremely careful with CPR to someone with multiple fractured or broken ribs. The strangest thing happened when they defibrillated him. Every time they shocked him the lights in the room would flicker and the stone in the boy's chest would briefly flash with crimson light. The staff became baffled once again when they noticed that the boy's internal temperature started to rise a little above a human's normal limit. Either be it by some miracle of other-worldly power, the medical staff was finally able to get the boy's condition to stabilize.

Outside the emergence room Atsuma had waited along with her sleeping son on a nearby couch in the lobby. Many worried thoughts had crossed her mind, fretting over the young boy she had found on the street. She _hoped_ that she had gotten him help in time; she _prayed_ that he would live. Ever since she found out about the power that she wielded she always wanted to use her ability to help people, no matter how small. That desire only doubled when she became a mother. People who had known her well enough would say that she was a bit naïve.

It would've crushed her heart if someone died even with her assistance.

So she waited, along with her son, with her head in her hands and a heavy heart that's only getting heavier as the minutes passed by. The clock above her ticked away, each 'tick' and every 'tock' seemed to reverberate through her very body. It wasn't until she was called over by one of the doctors that had assisted on saving the child that she looked up with a slightly haggard expression. He told her that they were able to get the child to a stable condition, but, unfortunately was too injured to be able to make _any_ kind of recovery any time soon. Instead, he would be put on emergency life support until the boy's known family is notified.

Her eyes glistened with un-shed tears, _'How? Even with all the effort I put into trying to save him, it still wasn't enough,'_ she clenched her hands in despair, _'Damn it!'_ There had to be something she, or someone else, could do to save this boy's life.

…..There was something.

She needed a **Maken.**

Her power was useless in this situation, but, she knew someone that could help. First she needed to make a call.

… **.**

 **Present**

Dull silver-grey eyes finally opened in what seemed like weeks, narrowing suddenly upon being struck by artificial light. These same eyes scanned around the room slowly, trying to take in their new surroundings. The scent of medical sanitizer filled the air.

'… _Where am I?..."_

Their boy tried to sit up but found his movements mostly constricted. He tilted his head down to gaze at his body only to find that it was mostly wrapped in medical bandages. Bandages were wrapped around most of his torso and stomach, legs and feet, arms and hands. They were also wrapped around his neck, jaw, and throughout his scalp. His mouth, nose, and eyes were left open to allow him to still see, eat, and breath. Although, it looked like they had some trouble properly wrapping his head, since he could feel several of his short spikes of black hair poking out of the bandages. The boy could accurately assume that he looked more like a mummy.

His eyes scanned the room in its entirety, quickly spotting several monitors that he was hooked up to. He blinked, _'I seem to be in some sort of hospital room of some kind,'_ he released a breath in relief, laying back down slowly, _'So I was able to make it to safety after all.'_

Now that he had time to recover, he can finally try to recall on his memories.

'…'

Total confusion filled his thoughts as his mind kept drawing blanks. Why couldn't he remember anything? How did he wind up in that alley? What happened to him that caused him to be so horrendously injured? How was he even _alive_? Most humans would have died by just a few of the more serious injuries that he sustained. Was that kind of damage just _normal_ for someone like him?

….

Who even was _he_?

'… _Z..Za-'_

His left ear twitch slightly as door to the left side of the room clicked and opened. Through the door came a man and a woman. The man wore clean, dark blue button-up shirt; neatly tucked into black slacks that were kept up by a equally black belt. Over it all was a pristine, pure white lab coat, giving the man an air of professionalism. While the woman was dressed in the usual attire for nurses in Japan.

He had dark blue hair that was slightly curled at the ends and he only had the barest hint of a stubble on his face. The man's face was remarkably _average_ , though, Zane could see that his brown eyes looked _sharp_ and a bit intense.

The woman gasped softly as she noticed the boy that was estimated to being a rest for a few days longer was now _awake_ and staring at them with chillingly calm eyes. The man raised a brow in slight surprise at those eyes, _'Strange. He really does have pupil-less eyes,'_ the man hummed in thought, _'Quite a unique trait…'_

There doctor put on a pleasant smile, "Ah, look who finally decides to wake up after so long," he walked over to the boy's bed to take a seat in the chair next to it. He brought a hand to his forehead to push some of his messy dark blue hair out of his face as he released a sigh, "Do you know how lucky you are to be alive, young man?"

There was a brief pause before the boy responded, "I-", only to break out in ragged coughs from an extremely dry and unused throat.

"I should have brought some water with me if I knew you were going to be talking today. Nurse! Would you kindly retrieve some water for him, quickly please!"

Their nurse quickly nodded, "Y-yes sir!", and off she went.

She came back just as quickly with a glass of water and handed it to the doctor. He took it, nodding in thanks to the nurse before turning back to the boy, "Easy. _Easy_. Here, drink some of this. It'll help alleviate that dry throat. Drink _slowly_."

Soothing, cold relief filled the boy as he consumed the life-giving liquid.

After a few gulps of water the boy responded, "I'm very grateful to you for healing me, thank you." The boy tried to bow his head to the man as best as he could with the bandages restricting most of his movement.

The man smiled kindly, ' _To be fair, you did most of the work while I only provided the means for your recovery._ ' He recalled when an old friend of his called him here to save this boy. She was desperate, practically _begging_ him to come and save the young boy. He was even lucky to be in town at the time she called. But the procedure itself was something else _entirely_ …

… **.**

… _He remembered how fast he drove to get to the hospital, rushing through the front door. He reached his friend and asked her where the boy was, she told him. He remembered asking the nurse if he could go in the room to heal him. She said that he had free access since he was so well known throughout the world as the famous 'Miracle Worker'._

 _He wasted no time getting into the room and immediately telling the staff to step outside so he could have complete concentration. He used his Maken,_ _ **Living Miracle**_ _, on the boy's body, implanting his_ _ **Element**_ _to heal the more severe wounds._

 _After a few seconds he noticed that the boy's wounds_ weren't _healing. He tried again, pushing more of his Element into his Maken. There was still NO EFFECT!_

 _He couldn't fathom it, for the first time in his life his powers were_ useless _. Despair began to fill his mind when, suddenly, the crystal embedded in the boy's chest began to glow a bright crimson. The boy tensed suddenly as growls and groans escaped through his clenched teeth. He twisted his body around in the bed, thrashing about. The monitors were going haywire; his pulse and heartbeat was off the charts. They began to malfunction when the wires that were hooked up to the boy started to short-circuit and melt. The wounds on the boy's body glowed a vibrant red before they gave off sizzling sounds and it was then that the doctor noticed that the wounds were closing themselves. What followed next was the sickening cracking sounds of his bones snapping back into their proper places and re-mending. All the while steam was being produced from his body while this seemingly painful healing factor was taking place. It was about a minute before the boy returned to a semi-peaceful slumber, his visible wounds completely healed and his body caked in sweat._

 _The older man was astonished! Never had he imagined that the boy would_ absorb _his element and use it to restore himself, 'Is that crystal his Maken?', he instantly rejected that theory, 'No. Maken only activate from the will of the user and this boy is still clearly unconscious.'_

' _Is it a passive ability, like Atsuma's_ _ **Blood Pointer**_ _?' Whatever it was he would have to ask the boy about it when he was conscious. For now, the medical team was going to have to move the boy out of the ER and in a normal room for next few days._

 _He couldn't also forget to tell Atsuma the good news…_

… **.**

Ever since that strange event, the doctor decided to stay in town for a while and examine the child. He was so unique and that event made him experience something he hadn't felt in a long time, excitement. He'll definitely take an interest in this child's development; what will become of him in the years to come?

It was then the man recalled what the boy said.

"It's good to know that my talents are appreciated, but I have to ask: how did you know it was _me_ who healed you?" For all he knew the boy was completely out of it during the entire thing.

The boy looked down for a second in thought before he responded, "I don't know how to explain it well enough, but, there's just an aura of power around you that feels familiar to me.", the boy tilted his head a bit and looked back at the man, "I hope that explanation helps."

The man's eyes widened a bit behind his glasses, "That is quite interesting." Interesting indeed. Not only did it seem that this boy was able to passively absorb the element around him for his use, now it seems he can sense it as well.

Sudden realization struck him as he lightly slapped his forehead, "My apologies! During this entire conversation not once did I ever introduce myself!", he placed his hand on his chest, "I'm Doctor Akihito Nijou. Most people call me the Miracle Worker because of my _special_ talents, but you can call me Dr. Nijou."

Akihito then gestured his hand to the boy, "Would you mind if I asked what your name is?"

The boy shook his head, tilted his head down a bit and closed his eyes in thought.

'… _Z…Za…Zane…'_ , the faint whisper pasted through his mind once more.

The boy opened his eyes and looked straight into Akihito's eyes and spoke words that seemed to be completely natural to him, "My name is Zane…sir."

The man raised a brow in curiosity, in the short time with speaking to this boy, Zane, he absently noticed that the boy had an oddly mature presence about him. From the boy's calm demeanor to the way he talks. It was strange to find such a quality in a child so young. Akihito leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, relaxing a bit now that he was about to get to the main point of his visit, "Alright Zane, I would like to ask you a few questions. Is that okay with you?"

Zane nodded a bit meekly, giving permission for him to ask away.

"Do you recall anything prior to waking up?"

"I remember finding myself in an alley of some kind. I remember the rain, hearing the distant thunder." Zane paused, "I also remember the dull soreness as I struggled to get to the exit and find any help."

"Do you recall anything before that?"

The boy closed his eyes in thought…

'…'

He opened his eyes once again, shaking his head, "I'm sorry, I don't remember."

Akihito faintly narrowed his eyes and folded his hands under his chin as he thought for a moment, _'Damn. Well, it's to be expected with that amount of cranial trauma.'_ He saw the x-ray scans that the other doctors took of the boy. One of his main injuries, next to the nearly severed spine and the sizeable puncture wound near his heart, was his cracked scull.

' _The fact the boy is even_ alive _is astonishing in itself."_ Any normal man would have died to any one of these severe injuries a long time ago. Not to mention that his self-healing ability was able to repair _all_ of the damage makes it a medical miracle. At first, he thought that the gem was some sort of shrapnel of some kind, but, scans also showed that it was _fused_ into the center of his collar bone.

A grimace overcame his features for a split second, _'In all my years, I've never had to treat a case like this,'_ he clenched his fist subtly in anger, _'How fucked up do you have to be to do this to someone, especially a child?!'_

Ever since the ambulance was called the local police also showed up to the scene to investigate. It's been almost a week and they still have yet to find any possible suspects. A warning was placed out on the news a couple nights ago for everyone to be alert for any suspicious individuals.

Akihito continued with his questions, "Do you know if you have any family we can call so we can notify them that you're here?"

'…' Another pause, "…no, sir."

"What about your life before the alley way. Can you recall _anything_?"

'…' the boy paused once again, "…none what-so-ever."

The nurse gasped while Akihito tapped on his chin, _'This is bad. It seems that cracked skull was more serious than we originally thought,'_ he closed his eyes, _'On top of the fact that we still have yet to find any medical records on him, he now seems to have severe amnesia.'_

The scans of his entire body after the procedure showed that everything was fully restored. Hopefully it wasn't a permanent case and will slowly come back to him over time.

A smile came to Akihito face as he looked back at Zane, "Now that you're awake we can run a few more tests before we can release you. In the meantime, though, a dear friend of mine wanted to visit you today," he chuckled a bit, "She'll surely be happy to know that you're finally awake."

He then motioned for the nurse to retrieve the visitors. After a few moments the nurse returned with a couple of people Zane didn't recognize. The taller person was a woman, looking to be around in her mid-to late twenties. Neatly combed, light brown hair fell from her shoulders and around her youthful face. One could say that she was a healthy fresh blade of grass among the wheat; She wasn't an exotic beauty by any means, but, there was no denying that she was beautiful.

The smallest of the two was a young boy, seemingly a few years younger than Zane himself. He had short, slightly messy orange-ish brown hair. An air of innocence surrounded the boy as he stood a little behind his mother, lightly clutching her left leg. The boy flinched a little as Zane's gaze fell on him but he soon stared right back at him, the slight fear that he had dispelled. Zane raised a brow at this new _refined_ gaze he was now under.

' _Hmm… There's strength in those eyes.'_

Zane's eyes rose back to the woman as she spoke, eyes shimmering with un-shed tears, "Oh, thank goodness you're awake now!", she sat down in the chair that Akihito got out of for her to use, "How are you feeling? You're not in any pain, are you?"

Zane shook his head, "No. I feel fine, actually," he stared at her, inquisitively, tilting his head, "I'm sorry, but, I do not know you. Who are you?"

The woman gasped and lightly slapped herself on her head, "OOH! I should be the one apologizing." She gestured her hand to herself, "I'm Atsuma Oyama, I'm the one who found you and brought you here." She then gestured to the little boy next to her, "And this my son! Say hello, Takeru."

Taking that as his queue to finally introduce himself, Takeru stepped forward closer to the bed and raised his hand for Zane to shake, "Hello! My name is Takeru Oyama and I'm five and a half years old!"

Zane snorted lightly in amusement at the boy's enthusiastic, yet, formal greeting. Having little choice but to reciprocate the gesture he raised his bandaged hand and shook Takeru's, "My name is Zane and I think that I'm nine years old?", he looks towards Akihito for some sort of confirmation.

Akihito nodded his head a bit, "By thoroughly examining you bones and skin cells, we estimated that you are a least around eight to ten years of age. Although, it is only an estimation since there is no exact way to tell what a person's _true_ age is."

Takeru tilted his head in curiosity, "Wait, don't you have a last name? My mom told me that everyone that has a mommy and a daddy should always have a last name."

The atmosphere of the room turned somber once more as the other people in the room waited for Zane's answer.

Zane frowned a bit in slight frustration in _still_ not being able to recall and of his memories before the alley, "I can't remember if I even have a family…"

Out of motherly instinct Atsuma suddenly reached out to grab Zane's hand to comfort him. Her hand made contact with the skin in the gaps between the bandages and his entire body suddenly _tensed_ -

 _-His vision changed and the world around him froze in place. His surroundings drained of all color, all except the three figures near his bed. Instead of blank figures, in there place were silhouettes of energy. Akihito's being a bright emerald, while Takeru's and Atsuma's energy being sapphire. Takeru's silhouette was lot dimmer than his mother's._

 _While his and Akihito's presence gave off a feeling of warmth, Atsuma's gave off a bitter cold-almost chilling-sensation. Her color was a few tones darker. Zane looked closer into her and saw something_ putrid _and_ vile. _Right where her heart should be was a large black mas tinged in red. Although time itself seemed to have come to a halt, the mass itself continued to shift as if it was a floating mass of liquid in zero gravity._

 _As he observed the mass, a small stream suddenly flowed out of it and towards his hand through Atsuma's arm that was in contact with his. When it reached his hand it became completely numb by a frigid cold. Power then flowed from the gem embedded in his chest in bright crimson arcs of lightning and struck out against the foreign energy. As the vile mass receded back to the source a deep yet faint whisper echoed throughout his mind._

' _ **Hmm! Even**_ **it** _ **was able to sink its claws this deep…'**_

 _Zane swiveled his head around the room, searching for the source of the voice only to find nothing._

 _He then blinked-_

-Zane's vision returned to normal as his attention was brought back to Atsuma as she squeezed his hand gently, "That was also another reason we came here to visit you," She smiled towards Takeru and then looked back at him, "We want to ask if it was okay if we could take you into _our_ care for a while until any other family members of yours comes to take you home. Is that okay with you?" She _really_ hopedhe would say yes.

If she were completely honest with herself she would be angry with whoever his parents are for leaving their child alone for so long. She half-expected them to be here the day after he was mentioned on the news. Plus the fact that she felt responsible for the child's well being.

Zane took a moment to think about his choice. His memories of his life are lost to him and he wasn't sure if they would ever return. Will they come back to him over time? And even if they did, what would he do then? Not to mention that he was in Atsuma debt for finding him and bringing him to the hospital, thus saving him.

Now wasn't the time for indecision, he had to take action now before this opportunity passed him by. In needed to trust his _instincts_.

Zane stared directly into her eyes, making her blush a bit being under such a _intense_ gaze, "I am in you debt for saving me as well and the only way I can think of repaying you is to accept your generous offer," he bowed his head low to her, "Please take care of me for now on, Miss Oyama."

Atsuma release a slight squeal as she-rather suddenly-grabbed his head and shoved it into her modest chest, making him release a muffled grunt at the action, "Oh! I'm so glad that you accept, but please call me Atsuma or Mom, okay?"

She hummed happily as she rocked back and forth with Zane still clutched to her chest as Akihito and the nurse shouted in surprise.

"Atsuma!"

"Ma'am! Please release the patient, he is still recovering and he cannot do that if you suffocate him!"

Takeru tilted his head in confusion, clueless as always.

Zane just hoped he will be able to survive his choice…

 _To be continued…_

 **AN: Well! That's chapter two done and I'm still not sure how many words this has. Stupid word app doesn't even have a word counter! How is that even possible?!**

 **Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter so far and endured my writing skills. If you have, good for you! You're awesome!**

 **Please leave a review if you feel the need to. And as you do that, I will figure out what to write for the next chapter. This is a lot harder than it looks...**

 **Until next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

 ** _AN: I do not own anything but my OC and my idea_ f** _ **or the story**._

 **Chapter Three: A Place to Call Home…**

It had already been a few days after Zane was allowed to be released from the hospital and into the care of the Oyama's. Dr. Nijou had promised him that he would stop by every once in a while to check up on him to see if he was improving. He snorted a bit at that. _Improving_. What did that even mean? They said that he made a full recovery before they released him from the hospital, right?

Well, whatever he meant, it was no skin off his back. As long as he didn't have to go back to the damned place, he was fine with that. It did feel nice being able to move around after all.

Speaking of moving around, ever since he had been taken into the Oyama's household Atsuma wasted no time treating him as if he were a second son. That included claiming the spare room as his own and doing chores. Zane didn't mind working around the house, quite the opposite actually; once Atsuma gave him some instructions he would do them immediately and without complaint. It was kind of strange.

Atsuma wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, as they say, and left it be.

Zane even met the father of the household, Takeshi Oyama. Zane thought that he was just a strong, nice, humble man. At first, that is. It wasn't until the next morning that he spotted the older man staring at a random woman jogging by the house with a nosebleed and a dopey look on his face. Even going as far as leaning his body to the side and breaking Michael Jackson's record of tilting just to stared at the woman's rump. Fortunately, that came to a halt we the boy also spotted a peeved Atsuma come flying in with the best drop kick he'd ever witnessed.

The end result being the poor man being put into a crater and dragged off back into the house, unconscious. He asked Takeru if that was a normal thing with them and all he received was a weak sheepish laugh.

It was then that Zane realized that he now lived with a rather strange family.

...

"So, uh, what you're saying is that _I_ -", Zane paused in his sentence to point at himself to clarify this, "-have to go to school?" he finished staring at the woman across the table from him.

Atsuma nodded sagely, "But of course! The police has yet to find any of your background history, so they told us that they would have someone legally forge your birth certificate." She rested her hand on his head, "And to have a legitimate record you have to build a history of education!"

"Yeah, I get that… but _why though?_ "

"Hah! What is with this animosity towards school anyway?" She leaned in towards him with eyes narrowed in amusement, "I thought you couldn't remember anything from your past."

Zane folded his arms and bowed his head in thought, "I'm not really sure myself, but for some reason I have this vague feeling that I don't like it." He tilted his head slightly, "Hmmm…."

Atsuma poked his head with a finger, "Well it won't matter anyway cause you're going. No if, ands, or buts mister."

Takeshi decided to add his few cents into the conversation, "Besides, it'll be good for you to socialize with other kids your age." He then smiled mysteriously, "Who knows… you might even get a girlfriend with your looks, kid."

He chuckled until a swift hand met the back of his head, courtesy of his wife.

"Don't you start putting those kinds of thoughts into his head, you dip!" She scolded her husband mildly in a hushed tone. She didn't want him to 'weaponize' the boy.

Zane spoke up, "Alright, I get it. I'll go to school. If anything," he looked next to him at Takeru, "If you have any problems with anything just let me know, okay?"

Takeru looked up at him and grinned, nodding his head.

Atsuma witnessed the scene between the two boys and gushed, "Aww! Look Honey! Not even a few days that he's been here and he's already acting like an older brother. So cute!"

Zane sweat dropped. It wasn't that big of a deal, was it?

…

Zane laid down in his bed staring at the ceiling in deep thought, resting his head on his left arm. He found himself doing this quite often in his spare time. He didn't really find much interest in watching TV or video games and the Oyama's thought that it was slightly strange but, assuming it was some sort of coping mechanism, left it be.

It had only been a week now since he'd been transferred to school, though, because of the four year age gap he had to attend his classes without Takeru there to assist him. Although, it wasn't much of a problem for the young man. Turned out that his comprehension was already quite impressive for a ten-year-old. The teachers tested his intelligence and scaled his IQ to be at about 125, a near genius. Zane never thought of himself as someone special, instead, he just assumed that he was just as normal as everyone else.

He couldn't really make any friends because of his strange personality so he felt a bit ostracized, but, it didn't bother him too much anyways.

As he laid in bed he heard Atsuma call out from downstairs, "Takeru! The Amaya's came over to visit. Come downstairs!"

It didn't take too long for hurried footsteps to run by his door, "Okay Mom!"

Zane continued to listen in, knowing it wouldn't be too long before-

-"You too, Zane! Come down so you can introduce yourself!"

There it was. Zane grabbed a plain white shirt to go with his white shorts and walked downstairs.

…

Haruko was ecstatic when here parents told her that they would be visiting the Oyama's today. They also vaguely told her that they just recently adopted a boy off the streets and she was always willing to make new friends.

She found herself thinking about what the boy looked liked, or what his personality would be like. She hoped that he was friendly and nice, like Takeru… She blushed a bit thinking about her crush.

She wondered what they were going to do today. Knowing the Oyama's, there was most likely going to have lots of fun.

Atsuma called up the stairs, " Takeru! The Amaya's came over to visit. Come downstairs!" She paused for a second, "You too, Zane! Come down so you can introduce yourself!"

Haruko and her parents waited downstairs for the rest of the two boys to come downstairs. Haruko's father had to ask, "Zane? Is it safe to assume that he was the boy that little Takeru was talking about to Haruko the last time they practiced at the dojo? That's certainly a strange name for a Japanese boy. It sounds German, if anything."

Atsuma turned to Mr. Amaya, "Yeah. We thought that too at first when we visited him at the hospital. We couldn't find any past records of him or any blood relatives, so, we assumed that he was foreign."

She turned her head and smiled as her original son came flying down the stairs and immediately ran up to Haruko with a big silly grin on his face. "Hey Haru! How's it going?"

Haruko smiled back at the excitable boy, "I'm great! What do you want to play today?" Even when she was a year older than him she couldn't help but to enjoy all of the little adventures they usually got into.

"Hello. I'm Oyama Zane, adopted son of Atsuma and Takeshi Oyama, and Takeru's technical older brother." Haruko and her parents yelped at the sudden appearance of the taller boy next to Takeru on his left.

They didn't even see him until he spoke up. How unsettling…

At the lack of response from the Amayas he lowered his hand and decided to a continue slightly sheepishly, "Sorry if I startled you!" He scratched the back of his head, "I tend to have that effect on most people for reasons I don't really understand."

Haruko was the first to shake out of her befuddlement, "N-No! No, it's okay!" She bowed her head in greeting, "I'm Amaya Haruko and I'm Take's only friend. It's nice to finally meet you!" She straightened back up and looked up at the taller boy's dull silver eyes. She blushed, finding his strange pupil-less eyes really pretty.

"Oh," Zane turn his head slightly, glancing at Takeru, "Takeru actually told you about me?"

She folded her hands behind her back, looking away shyly after realizing that she was staring, "Kinda. He didn't really give a name, though…" She sweat dropped a little.

"Ah…" Zane lifted his right hand, "I'm not really surprised there." He then dropped his hand on top of Takeru's head, ruffling his messy hair, "It didn't take me very long to realize that he wasn't very bright. Isn't that right, _little_ brother?"

"Hey!"

Everyone else in the room laughed and Haruko giggled at the comedic interaction between the two brothers.

Haruko's father brought his chuckles down a peg after a moment, "I'm sorry-heh-but, uh... how old are you, kid? You sound _wayyy_ too mature and we'll mannered for your age."

Zane put his hands in the pockets of his shorts after Takeru finally swiped his hand away, "Well, Dr. Nijou said that by judging the age of my skin cells and stuff, I'm suppose to be ten years old."

Mr. and Mrs. Amaya were astonished by this, "R-Really?! I mean, you look lean enough to be at least fourteen."

That wasn't even an exaggeration either. It would be difficult to describe the boy to be close to scrawny, what with the impressive toned muscle he had for a ten-year-old. The boy looked like a fighter.

Zane scratched his head in thought, "There were no past records of me in any database, so, I could have been living in the boonies doing what needed to be done to survive for all I know."

Atsuma finally spoke up, "But then how would that explain your teachers saying that your IQ is at a college level, hmm?"

"Hah. Good point."

"Hey, Zane? Come with me and Haru so we can play some games together! Pleeease?" Takeru begged his older brother.

There was no hurting it, he had nothing else to do, "Sure. Who else's gonna get you out of trouble when you do something stupid."

"It'll be _fine_ , trust me," Takeru urged Haruko and Zane towards the front door before calling back, "Okay Mom! We're going outside to play now!"

"Okay! Be careful and come back before it gets dark out!"

…

I didn't take long for the three kids to begin their adventure around the neighborhood. They played tag, hide-and-seek, even went to the park that was nearby. Although, Zane could honestly say that hide-and-seek was his favorite game. It didn't matter where Takeru or Haruko hid he would always find them.

Takeru was a little peeved about that, saying that he must have been cheating somehow. Haruko just said that Takeru was always a sore loser when it came to hide-and-seek.

It had been a few hours and the sun started fall down behind the horizon, marking the end of their playtime. Takeru suggested that they take the shortcut home but Haruko questioned if it was safe. Takeru reassured her that it would be fine.

'Well, this looks _totally_ safe." Zane thought to himself as the three kids walked through a dark, creepy alley. He glanced at Takeru, "And you've taken this shortcut before, right?"

Takeru looked at Zane in return, "Yeah, bro! Of course! Me and Haru took this route before. Though, the last time we used this shortcut there was a few wild dogs but they were easy to scare off."

"I'm not so sure about this T-Take." Haruko stated nervously and yelped in fright when they heard a noise close by. She instinctively buried herself closer into Zane's back.

Zane raised an eyebrow at this as they continued to walk through the alley.

The kids suddenly froze when they heard feral growling from the shadows ahead of them. They then spotted a trio of dogs stalk up to them slowly, growling viciously and frothing at the mouths.

" _Takeru_ …" Zane whispered warningly to his brother. He could feel Haruko shiver and shake in fear and he can admit that he was very weary now.

" _Don't worry. I came prepared._ " Takeru took out a moderate sized metal pipe and stepped up front to the group of dogs, swinging the pipe around to scare them off, "Go on! Get outta here! SCRAM!"

Haruko smiled a bit in relief at Takeru's courage. She would always feel safe when he acted like this.

The leading hound of the pack barked loudly at the boy, eyes flashing a sudden bloody red. It wasn't a normal sounding bark from any kind of dog. It sounded deep, twisted, and utterly _demonic._

The stuff that fueled nightmares.

The alley way shook from the sound waves coming from the animal and Takeru flinched hard, dropping the pipe. The dog on the left took advantage of his mistake and lunged at him, intent on ripping his throat out.

"TAKERU!" Haruko screamed in terror.

There was a split second but Takeru saw a blur slam into the lunging dog, the force of the impact knocking him back near Haruko. His vision refocused and he saw Zane pinning the feral animal to the wall with cracks forming on the structure. The wild dog continued to try and nip and bite at him, so the boy grabbed onto the dog and threw it into a dumpster a bit away. It didn't get up afterwards.

He then turned to face down the other two dogs, fists clenched, body tense and coiled, ready to spring.

Takeru and Haruko could only stare, wide eyed, in shock at Zane's back. They could even see the muscles in his back flexing through his shirt. Haruko could hardly speak, "Za…Zane?"

"…"

He didn't respond.

 **...**

Zane didn't know what to even think or say, too busy staring intensely at the two remaining dogs. H can clearly see that something was abnormally _wrong_ with the hounds. Other than glowing red eyes, he could faintly see a dark, ominous fog of energy surrounding them. It gave off the feeling of vile intent, yet, also of vague familiarity. A small pit of dread dwelled in his heart before he crushed it.

The moment the lead dog released that haunting howl it felt like his body suddenly lost connection with his brain. He couldn't explain how or why he moved to intercept the lunging beast. It was like his body was on auto pilot.

He didn't even have the option to flee…

 _ **Fight.**_

Suddenly, both of the remaining dogs rushed at him, one on his right and left flank.

 _ **Fight.**_

He brought his arms up, legs spread, knees bent. He struck out with a fast left jab at the one on his left, hitting home on the side of its jaw, stunning it momentarily. He then jumped back slightly while bringing his right knee high up and landing it hard at the bottom part of the other leaping dog's face, launching it in the air over him. By the time the dog began it's fall Zane already launched a kick at the beast with the same leg. With a resounding **crack** that reverberated through the alley way the beast was launched further away, skidding across the ground.

There was a **roar** and the lead hound pounced at him, taking him to the ground. His head hit the ground hard, dazing him. When his vision refocused a terrible sight greeted him…

The beast was on top of him, demented, evil, serrated glowing red eyes stared down at him with rage as a maw filled with rows of sharp, bloody, blade like teeth growling at him.

…yet he stared back just as intensely, completely lacking any sort of emotion.

The beast lunged; Zane brought an arm up, fully tensed...

…and blood erupted onto the walls.

…

Takeru and Haruko could believe what they were seeing. They didn't understand what was going on. Why didn't they run off when Takeru tried to scare them off like last time?

When the first dog lunged at Takeru, Haruko thought she was going to lose him. Hot tears dripped from her eyes when she felt Zane suddenly launched forward out of her grip to save him. She witnessed the speed and strength he possessed and it amazed her.

It looked like it was so natural for him.

Her heart nearly stopped when the last dog tackled him to the ground. It wasn't until a second later that the animal bit down on his arm and blood flew with a _**crunch**_ and a _**crack**_. She didn't know why Zane didn't scream in pain until she noticed the dog start to whine and whimper.

Suddenly, Takeru got to his feet finally, grabbing the metal pipe as well and rushed in, yelling out. He swung down on the dog's head and with a resounding _**smack**_ the hound fell over, unresponsive.

Takeru took a moment to breath deeply before helping Zane to his feet, "Bro! Are you okay?!" He went to grab his arm, "Here, let me take a look-whoa!"

To his surprise, Zane's arm looked completely fine, minus the blood and the few teeth embedded in his arm, what was strange was the fact that the teeth were slowly being pushed out the skin itself. The blood seemed to steam and evaporate off. Takeru had to even pull his hand away after almost getting burned by the heat.

Zane finally exhaled slowly, a small, faint cloud of steam coming out from between his parted lips. He looked at Takeru with slightly droopy eyes, "Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Just a little dazed."

His ears twitched slightly at a noise directly behind Haruko and he rushed to her.

…

Haruko had just gotten over her shock and started to head over to the boys when she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up on high alert. She saw Zane rush to her when she felt something behind her. She turned around to look quickly when she saw the dog that got kicked away suddenly upon her, mouth full of jagged, sharp teeth ready to tear her open. She gasped loudly, eyes widened, as time seemed to come to a crawl. She couldn't believe it…, ' _Take?_ '

" **PULSE**.."

…was she going to die here?..., ' _Please…_ '

"HARU!"

' _SAVE ME!'_

" **DESTROYER!** "

She closed her eyes and felt her body being pulled into something sturdy and warm. Light flash from behind her closed eyelids and all that could be heard around her was a monstrous _**boom**_ of thunder, rattling her ears. She thought she was going to lose consciousness from sensory over stimulation when it all became quiet again. For a moment, she dared not to open her eyes in fear of seeing something she didn't wish for, but, she opened them anyway.

She found a single silver eye staring back at her. She looked closer and saw faint streak of red swirling around where the pupil was suppose to be. She could pull her sight away from it, it was so entrancing…

"Haruko."

"Huh?"

"Are you alright?" Zane asked, making sure she wasn't harmed in any way. His right eye was closed tightly shut with thin streams of crimson blood leaking out from under the eye lid. She noticed that his right arm was limp at his side with multiple bloody cuts littered all over it, fresh blood dripping from his palm. She also couldn't help but notice how close she was being held to him by his left arm. She could feel the muscles on his torso and arm and the warmth that he produced.

If it were any other situation she would have blushed and squealed in embarrassment.

"I-I-I'm o-okay, but…" she looked back up at Zane and noticed that the shine in his eye had started to dim and his grip loosening, "What about you, though?"

…

"That…" Why did he feel so tired all of a sudden? "I'm not so," his vision became dim and blurry as the bones in his legs suddenly gave way, "sure…"

He could vaguely hear a muffled call of his name before the world around him became consumed in blissful darkness.

 _To be continued..._

…

 _ **AN: WHEW! That took me longer to make than it should have. Got so caught up on reading other fictions and finding others that caught my interest.**_

 _ **My apologies.**_

 _ **After posting this chapter, though, I would've already got started on the next one.**_

 _ **So as always, show some love by reviewing or if you want to help me developed this story faster, send a personal message my way. That doesn't mean to spam me with pointless crap, mind you. If I find that it actually has some relevance to the story or any future story ideas then I'll try to message you back and we can spin some ideas.**_

 _ **Until next time!**_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

 _ **AN: I do not own anything but my OC and my idea**_ **f** _ **or the story**_ _._

 **Chapter Four: Realization…and So It Begins…**

 _Darkness greeted him as he laid there, floating in an everlasting abyss of nothingness. He tried moving any part of his body, yet, nothing responded to his mental commands. So instead, he decided to do nothing and patiently wait for time to pass by…_

…

 _It didn't take long for him to get bored. So instead of doing nothing, he thought about how he could've got here._

 _Memories came flowing back to him steadily._

 _He had been with his little brother, Takeru, and his friend, Haruko, playing various children games like Tag and Hide-and-Seek. He liked the particular moment when he chased after Takeru and the poor boy got close lined by a low hanging tree branch. He chuckled._

 _Then he remembered that they had started to head home when it began to get dark out. Takeru suggested that they take a shortcut to get home faster. They had been walking down a dark alley when they were attacked by a pack of wild dogs. Takeru tried to scare them off when an ominous presence seemed to possess the animals._

 _It was then something snapped inside of his mind and he rushed the beasts, fully intent on eliminating the threat. One by one each dog was effectively and decisively beaten. The fight was all a blur and he fought with strength that he didn't even know that he had. Takeru finally shook off his shock so as to knock the dog on top of him away. They thought it was all over until they heard a noise from behind Haruko. He didn't even think before he acted and within nanoseconds he was already grabbing her with one are and launching his other fist into the beast, executing some sort of technique that he didn't exactly know himself._

 _There was nothing but blood left of the dog after the explosion of energy but, unfortunately, the technique must have been poorly executed. The residual backlash tore his right arm apart, leaving all of the bones fractured and skin mangled. They didn't even take a step out of the alley way before he passed out from the pain._

 _ **Pulse Destroyer…It has been a**_ **long** _ **time…**_

 _That voice…he remembered it from weeks ago, back when he first woke up in the hospital. Who's was it and where did it come from?_

 _ **Don't worry, kid. I'm only a fragment of something that resides inside what's left of your soul. As for 'who' I am, hehe, well...**_

 _He noticed that parts of his body had already started to fade and yet he still felt no trepidation._

… _ **just think of me as something that's looking out for your best interest.**_

 _He then faded away completely into the abyss._

…

Light consumed Zane's vision as he opened his eyes. He immediately raised his arm to lessen out the irritating sensation and let his eyes readjust properly. "Ugh. Too damn bright."

He felt something stir slightly next to him at the right side of the bed he laid in and turned his head to see a head of purple hair resting next to his right arm…

…Which seemed to be in a full cast..

It was then that he noticed that he was also wearing a hospital gown and the smell of sanitized medical equipment wafted into his nose.

His eyes became lidded and he frowned, ' _Here again, huh._ '

He took some time to observe his surroundings some more. He took note that Takeru was also in the room sitting in another chair next to Haruko, fast asleep. He guessed that Atsuma and Haruko's parents were somewhere else in the hospital.

He looked back at the sleeping girl closest to him and couldn't help but to admire how soft her hair looked at that moment. He lifted his left hand and reached for a few stray strands of her lavender locks, gently grabbing some between his fingers. Her hair was very soft, silky, and smooth to the touch. A random thought came to his mind and without hesitation he followed his impulse. He took some of the hair up to his face, right under his nose, and inhaled deeply. He took in the scent of her hair and one marveled at how freshly cleaned it was.

It smelled of wonderful lilacs. The smell seemed to calm quite a bit.

Yup. He definitely wouldn't mind doing this more often…

He released her hair when she started to stir some more and her eyes start to open. She blinked her eyes a few times and brought a hand to her face to wipe away any remaining tiredness while sitting up. After a few moments, she finally to note of the dull silver orbs looking back at her and froze. Zane smiled a bit in amusement , "Hey there, Haruko. You're lookin' like a deer caught in some headlights, ya know."

Tears started to fall from her eyes slowly and she hiccupped as she could barely utter a word. So instead she lunged at him, rapping her arms around his neck as she gently cried into his chest.

Zane was perplexed. He didn't understand how to handle this correctly but he felt that he should at least do _something_. Following that feeling, he brought his left arm around her, bringing her a bit closer.

The noise seemed to finally wake up Takeru, "Big Brother, you're awake!" He practically jumped out of his chair and rushed out to the door of the room, "I'll go get Mom everyone else right away!" The door closed soon after, leaving Zane and Haruko in the room alone.

Haruko crying soon subsided to mere slightly sniffling and he felt her body finally start to relax. He leaned in a bit closer to her when he heard muffled mumbling from her.

"So… warm…"

It was a good thing Takeru wasn't in the room to see him blush. Otherwise, he probably would let him live it down.

He had an image to protect after all.

…

"On behalf of the Amaya family, I'd just like to personal thank you for protecting our daughter, Zane!" Mr. Amaya was quite exuberant with his thanks, even going as far as to bow deeply to the boy. Even Mrs. Amaya went to shake his left hand with both of hers, tears of joy and relief streaming down her cheeks, "If it wasn't for you, our little Haruko would've…Oh! I just don't want to even think of it!"

"Don't worry about it. I only did what anyone else would have done at the time." Zane humbly stated.

Takehito stood by the door as he watched the two families interact with the bedridden child. He frowned a bit in thought, ' _True…but, no_ normal _child would've been able to do this much damage._ ' He looked back over the report the police officer that was on the scene gave him. _'I don't remember any of his last physical results showing anything spectacular like this._ '

The officer that was on scene described it as something straight out of a horror flick. The walls and ground of the alley way were cracked and cratered, blood and running down the walls and soaking the ground. Sharp teeth -most likely from the wild dogs- were scattered about. The officer said that the children described the dogs as monstrous beasts with glowing red eyes, but, when they were inspected they didn't look any different from any other dogs. So that description was chalked up to the kids over imagination. There were also said to be _three_ of them but only _two_ were identified. When investigated further, it turned out that the other side of the alley was completely caked in blood, pieces of bone, and other various body parts.

The officer could only safely assume what happened to the third dog.

He immediately made a note to get some psych evaluations on the three children. He needed to make sure there wasn't any lasting mental trauma after such a horrifying event.

He took out some x-ray scans of the boy. His eyebrow furrowed, ' _Compared to last night's scans and the ones we took of him this morning, only a few of his bones in his right arm show small signs of fractures._ '

The fact that he was seemingly able to heal such severe damage over several hours is a testament to his _irregular_ bodily functions. None of the Maken users or Element-aware he's researched have been recorded to have such a healing factor. Not to mention that the boy's body temperature spiked a little during the night. Though, unlike the first time, his body wasn't thrashing around in discomfort; as if he was sleeping peacefully. Very strange indeed.

Takehito brought a hand to his chin, ' _I'll have to run some more physical tests on him to get a proper gauge on his current capabilities._ ' He then flipped his clipboard closed and looked up at the families, "Well, everything seems to check out fine. Zane's recovering faster than we expected and should be out of here by tomorrow afternoon."

The kids cheered and the parents smiled.

"But," he interrupted the small celebration, "Zane going to have to stay here so that we can run a few physicals for him as soon as he's able."

Zane groaned loudly and fell back into his pillow with a bit of force. Haruko giggled at his exasperation.

Takeshi stood up from his chair, "Oh well, I guess it can't be helped, son." An amused smile came to his lips, "Think of it this way: with your heroism being reported on the news this morning, people with think of you as a hero, kind of like that American comic book hero, Superman! And you know what that means…" he raised his balled fists to his face, his excitement growing, "By the time you reach your teenage years, you'll be drowning in girls!"

…

Zane sweat dropped, ' _Oh boy, here we go…_ '

He continued on, regardless of the malicious aura now filling the room, "I can already see it now: 'Hero-sama! Hero-sama! Can I get your autograph, please?! Can you sign our chests?! AHH!'" The aura started to peak, "Then their hot and lonely mothers will come and 'thank' me for raising such a 'noble' and 'heroic' child!" He laughed uproariously with a blush on his face, no doubt imaging adulterous thoughts.

" _What the hell do you think you're saying, huh_?"

"Wha-OOMPH!"

The sound of flesh striking flesh resounded through the room with a vicious _**slam**_ as two feminine fists impacted Takeshi's face, courtesy of Atsuma and Mrs. Amaya, "DON'T YOU DARE THINK OF CORRUPTING THIS CHILD!"

The window to the outside was opened right before a screaming Takeshi was sent flying through it into the far horizon. The force of his sudden departure actually created some wind that whipped around the room.

"It was still totally worth the image!" Zane could still hear Takeshi yell out before he faded into the distance.

He sighed, exasperated, ' _My father, ladies and gentlemen. Jeez, how embarrassing_.' He suddenly felt something grab at his gown. He looked to find Haruko had a part of the cloth in her balled fist.

She looked away bashfully while pouting, glancing his way every once in a while, "I really hope you won't be like _that_ …" her blush increased and she fully turned away from him, still holding on to his hospital gown.

He brought his left hand to the back of his head to scratch at his short, spiky hair sheepishly, "You worry too much, you know that?" He grinned a bit.

Takehito, who stood at the window, went to closed it with a sigh of relief, "Could you be more careful next time, Atsuma? I'm not as young and limber as I use to be. What would've happened if I hadn't been fast enough to open the window at the right time, huh? Fines for public property damage, that's what."

"What?! Why are you only blaming me! Mrs. Amaya punched him too." Atsuma gestured to the woman in question.

Mrs. Amaya got startled and said in defense, "Oh my~. I honestly don't know what came over me."

Takehito jabbed his finger at Atsuma, his face in a deadpan expression, "True, but, you're the only one here with enough strength to send a grown man flying like that."

Atsuma, for her part, comically collapsed on to her knees, a metaphorical rain cloud over head.

Takeru finally took this chance to speak up, "Dad's right, though! You should totally be a hero when we grow up." His body began shaking in excitement, "You were so awesome, big bro! You were like," he then began trying to imitate what Zane did in the ally way -although exaggerated- while releasing some 'ha's!' and 'hoowaa's!' along the way. He then stopped, a surprisingly serious expression on his face, "I realized something important as well…"

Everyone in the room looked at Takeru and remained silent as he continued.

"I realized that I couldn't stand to watch someone fight all by them self, so…" He brought his shaking balled up fist close to face, "I'll make a promise to become stronger so that I can fight along side those I care for and protect them!" He then grinned and stuck his fist out to Zane.

Zane was awestruck, ' _Well damn…_ '

For all of his obliviousness and slight perversity, Takeru always does seem to surprise him with his fortitude and will. It was something that Zane admired about his little brother, even if he wouldn't say it out loud.

Zane reached out with his own fist in return and bumped there fists together, a slight grin spreading his own lips.

 _-Two figures suddenly clashed in a bloody exchange, fists colliding in a barrage of impacts._

 _The figures separated, landing a distance away from each other. They stared each other down, one with ill madness, and the other with burning rage. One of the figures faltered for a moment and the other took advantage and launched at the injured one. The injured figure saw this and in desperation launched a palm out towards the attacking figure._

" _ **PURGE!"**_

 _Both attacks met with a_ _ **boom**_ _that shook the very ground. After a minute of complete silence, one of the figures shook slightly…_

… _and then met the ground unforgivingly with a growing pool of blood, motionless…_

-Zane blinked and the vision was gone. Outwardly, he didn't show any signs of distress, but inside his mind he wasn't so sure.

' _What…what the_ hell _was_ _that?!_ '

He retracted his hand back as Takeru went to talk to everyone else and put it on his chest, right where his heart was. He realized that it was beating fast than it should be.

…

Takehito stood by as he watched the families mingle and joke around. He glanced at Zane from the corner of his eye, eye lids narrowed and brows creased. He saw that the boy was now holding his chest a bit with his eyes down cast in what seemed like mild, frantic worry.

Fortunately, he had been the been the only one paying attention to the monitors at the time. It was when the two Oyama boys fist bumped that he noticed Zane's eyes seem to shrink and enlarge as if they were pupils dilating and his heart beat monitor suddenly spike. It had only been for a split second but he saw it as clear as day.

When you lived as long as he has you notice these kinds of things, _quite_ easily.

He turn his analytical eyes elsewhere when Zane's eyes suddenly veered his way. His smirk went unnoticed by everyone in the room, ' _He must have felt me staring at him just now. Impressive. The boy has good instincts._ ' He paused in his thoughts as he wrote down his plans for the boy's physical tests tomorrow on his clipboard.

The smirk never left his face the entire time.

' _Who are you_ really, _Zane Oyama_?'

…

 **1 year later**

The door to Takeru's room opened as a head of spiky, midnight black hair stuck its way through the opening followed by a tan skinned young boy. A year had past and already and yet the boy hadn't changed all that much. He seemed to have grown his hair out a bit more, actually developing what looked like a small spike of hair falling in front of his forehead. With think the constant weekly physical examinations from Dr. Nijou he also seemed to have a bit of a tone added to his lean muscle.

He walked up to Takeru's bed and started to shake the boy awake, "Oi! Takeru, wake up! It's time for our morning exercises. Get up!" After a few seconds with no response from the seven-year-old, he sighed to himself. He looked back at Takeru in slight irritation before walking out of room.

He soon returned, dragging a very perplexed Inaho Kushiya right behind him. He looked at her and gestured both of hands at the unresponsive lump in the bed, "Could you give the 'morning special' that you usually try to give me, please?"

Like a switch the confusing on her cute little face morphed into an excited grin as she nodded vigorously, but before she could start, he lifted his hand to stop her.

He walked to the door and stepped outside and right before closing the door simply said, "Carry on."

It wasn't even seconds before he heard from behind the closed door, "GOOD MORNING, TAKERU!"

"WHA-OOH! NO!" There was a loud _**crash**_ and the springs of the bed squeaking, "OOOHHHHH HHHOOO!" a short few moments of heavy gasping, "Hah! Okay! I'm up, now _pleeease_ get off my stomach now, Inaho!"

An boom goes the dynamite.

Zane opened the door again, a slightly smug look on his face, "Good! Now that you're awake we can get started on our morning exercise…"

He swiftly dodged a pillow being thrown his way, "Thanks, Inaho!"

"You're welcome!"

…

A year had past and in that time Zane found himself more deeply ingrained into the Oyama's daily life. Him and his brother became almost inseparable; you couldn't find one without the other. Zane would often find himself spending more time around Haruko as well. She would often times look away when he looked at her, though, he would notice a faint blush on her face. At first he thought that she had a thing for his little brother, Takeru. But, it seemed that as time when by, that shine in her eyes that would often appear when she looked at Takeru would get dimmer and dimmer every time she would visit. Zane chalked it down to just all of the stupid perverted things Takeru does to her finally getting to her.

There was this one time when Takeru pulled down her skirt when Zane was talking to her. He had never seen such a mortified, yet, pissed look on her face. The slap that followed was almost on Atsuma's level of physical violence. She ran away crying afterwards and she didn't come over to visit for a several weeks. It had been an uneventful few weeks after that; even Takeru was sad and perplexed at this. Zane mentioned to him that she was most likely avoiding them because of what he did.

Takeru only became more depressed.

It didn't last long, though, as throughout the weeks Takeru would come home from his walks in happier moods for some reason. When asked about it, he would just say he met this girl that practicing Karate the park in the rain and he would try to visit her every day.

It wasn't until a couple weeks ago that Takeru came home with a bloody forehead and the girl that he spoke of a few days before hand. After getting an explanation from Takeru about where the head injury came from and why the girl, Inaho Kushiya, looked all beat up, Atsuma became angry and decided to take Inaho into their home.

" _I can't stand the thought of someone who calls themselves a parent cause this much harm to a child! If I ever meet this person face-to-face I'm going to teach them a lesson they'll never forget!"_

It was kind of cliché. Let's not forget the fact she sounded like a thug at the end.

There's probably some history there.

The girl had been living with them ever since. Zane thought she was a pretty cute and bubbly girl; kind of dim in the head at times, but, she was fun to have around. She also had this weird fascination -bordering obsession- for sweets. Zane warned her that eating too many sweets make her fat and unhealthy. She only laughed and took it as some sort of challenge.

Today was Saturday and Atsuma was going to bring them to their family Dojo so that she can train Takeru some more. The reason she felt that Zane didn't really need these lessons was apparently because when she sparred with him a few months ago, he was able block and counter most of her basic fighting techniques. So instead, Zane would just sit out on the spars with everyone else until it was his turn to spare with her again.

…

' _This place is a lot bigger than what most people would think it would be._ ' Zane thought to himself as he walked around the dojo's grounds in the karate uniform with a water bottle in his hand.

He usually goes on walks around the grounds when he feels that he needs to think. The fresh air was always pretty good to help clear his mind.

He stopped when he spotted a familiar figure siting by the pond.

His eyes widened a bit as he recognized the girl, "Haruko…"

She turned, startled, "Zane?!"

She looked away with a grimace and started to walk away when she felt a slightly larger hand grab ahold of her wrist.

"Wait!" Zane urged her, "It's almost been a month and the first time we see each other again, you try to run away." He puts his other hand on her shoulder and turns her around towards him, "Why have you been avoiding us? We're friends, aren't we?"

She stayed silent trying to avoid looking into his eyes, a blush heavily present on her face.

"Was it because of what Takeru did that day?"

She nodded her head timidly.

He signed in slight frustration, "I kinda figured it would've been that. But didn't you say once that Takeru would always pull stupid stuff like that all the time? What was it about that time that made it so different?"

He heard her murmur something but he couldn't understand what it was.

In a fit of annoyance, he flicked her in the forehead.

"Ow!"

"You know, it's kinda rude to murmur like that. Especially, when someone asks you something."

She rubbed her forehead with hands whole finally looking back up at him, "I said that it was different because _you_ saw me like that as well!"

"Yeah, okay." He paused and tilted his head in confusion, "But, _why_ does it matter that I saw you too, huh?"

What could've possibly _changed_.

"Because!..." she halted herself for a moment, looking away once more, "B-Because…" The blush on her face darkened further.

Zane leaned in a bit, deep anticipation burning in his heart…

"…"

The hairs on the back of his neck suddenly rose as he felt a malevolent force bear its weight on the area around them. This feeling…

….it felt all too familiar to him!

"Mother!"

…

Haruko yelped in shock when Zane suddenly called out, looking over towards a part the dojo that she couldn't see. She noticed how he suddenly stiffened up, body becoming tense like a spring.

She also noticed how his pupil-less eyes shrunk and glowed with blazing red energy.

"Zane, what's wrong?" She asked him, actually a bit frightened herself, ' _The last time he was like this a year ago when those dogs attacked us!_ '

That energy in his eyes were never this bright before.

His head whipped back to look at her with a burning intensity, "Don't tell me… _you don't feel that, too_?"

It was then that they both felt the very earth shake as a deafening explosion consumed a large part of the dojo a bit of distance away from them. Dust and smoke protruded out of the side of the building, covering any sign of life within. Haruko

Zane turned towards Haruko, his expression grave, "Haruko," he grabbed both of her shoulders with firm grips, forcing her to look at him, "Haruko! I need you to get out of here and go get help."

"Why would I leave you and Takeru alone like this?!" She shook her head vigorously with tearful eyes, "NO! I can help-!"

"NO, HARU!" He shook her roughly.

Her small body froze while her watery eyes widened. That was the first time he called her by that name. She felt his grip on her shoulders loosen after a few moments.

Then, suddenly, he smiled.

Everything froze around them and all she could focus on was him.

The smile on his face was a bit strained -that much she could tell- and his left eyebrow would twitch a bit as he strained to keep her calm with his false front.

He spoke to her again, "You shouldn't worry so much; you'll gain wrinkles that way." His eyes shone like deep crimson rubies, "We'll be fine, I promise."

Another explosion shook them out of the moment; this one closer to them.

The sliding doors to the pond area that the two children were standing in blew outwards as a body of an larger man was sent flying over to their side. Haruko saw that the man was struggling to stand up and was about to rush to his aid when Zane stuck an arm to stop her. He was currently staring over towards the broken doorway, his body planted firmly in a defensive stance. His face showed no outwardly distress but she could see it in his eyes how bad he knew the situation has gotten.

She turned towards where Zane and the older man were glaring when she saw it.

Dark purple, almost borderline black fog-like miasma poured its way out of the broken doorway. There seemed to be no end to it, it was so thick.

She then heard footsteps. The sound of them was hollow, yet, they left impacting echoes that seemed to drown out everything else.

A silhouette of a figure stepped into view; no physical features or details could be distinguished about the figure itself other than the fact that it was lithe and feminine. Whispers of something she couldn't understand flowed about and she did not wish to know them in fear of learning their demented, evil purposes.

Then, as if it had been an eternity, the figure's eyes open. Glowing pools of scarlet shined through the dark fog that surrounded it. Those very eyes seemed to pierce right through her, as if trying to burn her very soul…

"Haru. Get out of here, _now_."

Shocked out of her consternation, Haruko looked one last time at Zane as he stared her down from the corner of his eye. She shakily nodded before running off.

She felt the ground beneath her feet quake again, but she chose not to even look back as she continued to run with all her might.

Fresh, hot tears flowed from her eyes.

…

Dr. Takehito drove down the road from the hospital at dangerous speeds as he followed the route to one of the only dojos in town.

He had been looking over his notes on Zane's physical development when he suddenly felt a surge of negative element. It wasn't long before his tablet started alerting him that the Nano mites within the boy started to pick up sudden erratic heart beat rate increase. He rushed to his car and started to head off to where he knew the kids would be today. Atsuma had told him that they usually went to their family Dojo on the weekends to help the kids practice.

He grit his teeth and glanced down at his tablet when the flat lining sound of Zane's pulse for the fifth time. The boy's pulse had been erratic for 15 minutes so far; it had been suddenly flat lining for reasons he couldn't understand, but, then his pulse would just as suddenly start right back up only to escalate even further again.

' _What the fuck is even happening right now?! No human should even be able to withstand this much stress!_ ' The boy's pulse started up again.

Just then, he brought his car to a screeching halt when he spotted a little girl with purple hair running on the sidewalk, tears evidently falling from her innocent eyes.

His eyes widened, ' _Haruko?!_ '

…

Takehito finally pulled up in front of the broken front doors to the Oyama's dojo, caution tape already blocking any unwanted witnesses from proceeding. The police were on scene, some already taking notes from what nearby witnesses told them while others stood by to block anyone from entering the supposed crime scene.

The doctor walked up to two of the officers standing at the front doors with Haruko timidly following close behind him. He checked Zane's condition only to find that his pulse rate was steady and slow.

Too slow for his liking…

He spoke to one of them after showing his ID, "Has anyone entered the building yet?"

The officer on the left responded, "No, sir. We tried to investigate earlier, but, it was like some kind of presence or force prevented us from entering, like some sort of invisible barrier." He took his cap to scratch his head for a second with a sigh, "So we called up one of our boys from the Element Specialist Department to come over and check it out."

He then looked over his shoulder at the heavily damaged building, "Until then we don't know if there are any bodies to look for in there, if there are any."

"There's no need for that. I'll break it myself."

The officer raised a brow, "Are you sure about that? I was given specific orders not to let anyone through."

Takehito insisted, "Please. I have a connection to the people that own this building." His piercing gaze stabbed into the officer, "Besides, I wouldn't be The Miracle Worker if I didn't specialize in Element Manipulation myself. I'm pretty sure that your 'higher ups' would let it pass if it is me."

After getting passed the tape, he and Haruko continued through the ruined grounds of the dojo. Takehito couldn't believe his eyes…

It looked as if it were a battlefield.

Cracks and craters littered the ground and walls of the outer layer and inner layer of the grounds. The wood of the foundations were broken and splintered while doors and windows were either broken or heavily damaged.

There was _no_ bringing this place back.

He took another step and heard a small _**splat**_ under his shoe. He looked down at the ground and saw a small puddle of blood. He looked around and saw more puddles and smears of blood scattered on the walls and wooden floors.

He turned towards Haruko, "Haruko…I'm going to need you to hold my hand and keep your eyes closed, okay?"

She wanted to tell him that she was stronger than that, but, she hesitated and obliged him.

After taking her small hand in his they continued to walk further into the building with him glancing back at her. He would occasionally hear the beeping of the heart monitor on his tablet.

 _ ***Beep***_

His vision wavered for a second, causing him to groan a bit, ' _Was that the barrier that I just passed through? It felt as though I just passed through a waterfall."_

 _ ***Beep***_

The two continued on as he thought to himself some more, ' _It must have been a passive warning barrier, only to ward off any unwanted intruders…_ '

He didn't even have to break it. It's like it opened up for him.

 _ ***Beep**Beep***_

 _ **So you've finally come, Undying One…**_

Takeshi froze up, his eyes narrowed dangerously as he whipped his head around to look for the source of the voice.

 _ **Relax, human. I'm only communicating to you through your mind. You and my host will be the only mortals to know of my existence.**_

Takehito breathed a slight sigh of relief as he continued with Haruko non-the-wiser of the voice, ' _And what are you exactly, a spirit?_ '

 _ **That is…complicated. For now, let's just say I'm an unseen benefactor to my partner and host.**_

' _And who_ is _your 'partner' and 'host'?_ '

 _ **Well, it's my future retainer, of course. The boy you know as Zane.**_

His eyes widened drastically at this information. The boy had been housing such a powerful entity this entire time?! This was interesting indeed.

' _Do you know if he's alright? And his brother, Takeru, and their mother, Atsuma?_ '

 _*Beep**Beep*_

 _ **The other boy is fine. The one you call 'Atsuma', on the other hand, is no longer a part of this world. She was corrupted, she was either going to die eventually or be forcibly eradicated.**_

Takehito grit his teeth in grief. He knew about her 'condition' for years but no matter how much he tried to heal her, her condition never improved. He felt guilty that he couldn't help his friend no matter how much he tried. They both had only hoped that she would pass peacefully.

' _ **Pass peacefully'. Such a foolish notion for those that call themselves warriors.**_

 _*Beep**Beep*_

 _ **Maybe in another life she would have died that way, but, in this reality, her own inner rage triggered the curse within her soul, allowing it to consume her completely.**_

 _ **She was reduced to a mere beast, driven by rage and madness. Such is the fate of those who are cursed by**_ **Him.**

'Him _?_ '

 _*Beep*_

… _ **Angra Mainyu.**_

 _ ***Beep**Beep**Beep***_

' _Angra Mainyu? You mean the Zoroastrianism's God of Darkness? The ancient Persian's equivalent to the Devil?_ ' His brows creased as he navigated through the wreckage of the inner dojo. All the while subconsciously following the whispers in his ear, guiding him to his objective, ' _But he's only a myth. One of the more obscure myths that caused it to never exist in reality._ '

 _ **Maybe not, in**_ **your** _ **reality…**_

 _*Beep*_

Takehito's eyes widened at the possibilities of what that statement meant, ' _What do you mean by that?_ '

 _ **That information is something I'm not willing to share with you, yet. Right now, Zane will need us to guide him on the path to his destiny. And for that…**_

 _*Beep*_

… _ **He needs to come to realize what he truly is.**_

 _ **Open the door to your right.**_

He did as instructed and found what he and Haruko sought for.

Sunlight gleamed down through a large hole in the ceiling and under it laid Atsuma, body bloodied and beaten with a fist sized indentation punched straight through to where her heart was suppose to be. Her eyes were closed and her pale cheeks were stained with dried tears. Her mouth was closed in a thin line as a thin, dry stream of blood ran down the side of her face from between her lips.

Takeru was kneeling over her body, wailing into clothes. His hot, wet tears stained what was left of her karate uniform.

Zane was a bit of a distance away. He was also on his knees, his balled fists planted into the wood of the floor with enough force to splinter it. His head was bowed deeply as he hunched over, kneeling in a pool of his own blood.

He looked like he had been through hell.

The top part of his uniform was completely destroyed and his pants were torn heavily and bloodied. His exposed skin showed heavy lacerations and bruising all over, still dripping vital fluid. Most of these wounds glowed a flaming crimson as steam wafted off of him. He could hear the _**hissing**_ as and dull _**cracking**_ as the boy's healing factor worked steadily to repair and mend the skin and bones.

 _*Beep*_

Zane's head slowly turned upwards towards him and Haruko and he heard her release a small gasp.

The right side of his face was completely obscured by the steam, but, the doctor could almost make out patches of glowing red spots from under the haze. The left side was almost untouched, yet, his expression still didn't fail to unnerve him.

His eye no longer shined any life, as if it were dull and hollow. They use to be darkened silver, but, now they were dull grey. A single trail of blood slipped from his eye, as if it were a tear, down the side of his slightly parted lips.

Then he finally spoke in a toneless voice, "I was never human, wasn't I?"

 _To be continued…_

 **...**

 _ **AN: And with that, we finally start to get into the current time line of the series. Next chapter will be a bit of time skipping around so as to set each relationship down before the final time skip into the canon plot of Maken Ki.**_

 _ **Most of you may have noticed by now that I'm expanding the universe a bit. Well, I'm am. Only because the Maken Ki plot itself was interesting. The anime's second season was actually a let down for me because they had so much potential from the first season but kind of dropped it only to fil, it with too much unnecessary fanservice.**_

 **I** _ **on the other hand will keep and add a bit more seriousness and try to do my best on the fanservice and put a few twists of my own in there.**_

 _ **As always, drop a fav or follow and leave if you'd kindly!**_

 _ **See ya next time!**_


	5. Chapter 5

**_AN: I do not own anything but my OC and my idea_** **f** ** _or the story_** _._

 ** _I also apologize for any reposting of chapters that may occur. I don't have a beta, so, there might be times where I read over the chapter one last time after posting it and then find those hidden grammar or spelling errors. Or if I might have forgotten crucial character descriptions._**

 ** _*cough* Dr. Akihito from Chapter 2 *cough*_**

 ** _So I apologize in advance._**

 ** _And a shout out to The Storm Master 567 for being the FIRST reviewer for this story and I gotta say: this gets me hyped! I've read some of his stories, main one being "A Dragon's New Path", and I deeply enjoyed it._**

 ** _I recommend you check it out if you haven't._**

 **Chapter Five: Recollections…and Farewell**

 ** _3 years later_**

 _Two boys stood outside of the gates of the all girls middle school. The taller of the two wore the black uniform of middle school that he went to that was on the other side of town. Standing at a solid six feet was Zane Oyama._

 _Now being a 14 year old, he was certainly towering over most - if not, all - of the teens in his age group. His shoulders seemed to have widened a bit. His hair had gotten longer as well; obsidian spikes sweeping back to the bottom of his neck while the bang in front of his face reached to cover a little of the left eye. His eyebrows grew a bit to, actually looking like small horns pointing towards his forehead. They made him look a bit roughish._

 _He was currently leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. Standing around him and his brother were most the populace of the school they were waiting in front of._

" _Oh. My. GOSH~!" He heard yet another girl squeal, "You_ see _that boy over there? He is, like,_ TOTES _hot, right?"_

 _His right eyebrow twitched._

" _I know right! Talk about tall, dark, and handsome~!"_

 _His brow twitched a couple more times._

" _I bet he works out too." He could practically feel their lustful gazes burning into his body, "I swear I can almost see the muscles in his arms under that jacket of his."_

' _Ugh…'_

" _Hey, Big Bro, those girls are talking about us again."_

" _I know, Takeru. Just ignore them and maybe they'll find something else to 'click' to."_

" _Ooohh~! What about the younger one with red hair?" Zane heard the girls talking again, "Doesn't he look just so_ adorable _~?"_

" _Okay! Time to go, Takeru." He started to walk off with Takeru grabbing on to arm to stop him but failing to keep him from moving regardless._

" _Wait! Weren't we suppose to wait out front until she got here so we can see her off on her first day of Middle School?"_

" _I'm sure she'll be fine if we waited somewhere else." 'Anything would be better than to wait in front of a bunch of loud, obnoxious,_ thirsty _girls that are just growing into their teen years.'_

 _For being born and raised by Japanese standards, a lot of these girls sure did like to act and talk like Americans._

' _What kind of prideful Japanese person would say 'totes' anyway? It shouldn't even be a real word.' He kicked a stray rock as he continued to walk, 'Fuckin' Google.'_

" _And just_ where _do you think you're going?"_

" _Hm-?"_

" _Hhyaa!"_

" _Khhuuuu!"_

 _Right when he had been paying the least attention, a lithe, feminine leg came flying out and planted a foot in Zane's gut. He hunched over on one knee holding his stomach. The air was knocked out of his lungs from the kick. Even Takeru, who had still been behind him, was knocked on his ass from the force of the impact._

 _Now, normally, he wouldn't have even_ felt _such a weak blow, but he was still recovering from a few wounds he got from training with his mentors yesterday. He was currently wearing bandages under his uniform. He couldn't blame her for not knowing, how could she have?_

 _He didn't tell her because he didn't want her to worry, again._

" _I thought I said to wait over by the front gate?! Is that honestly so hard?"_

 _After gaining the ability to breath properly again, he looked up at the source of his pain, expression deadpanned, "Nice legs there, Haru."_

 _He stood up as a blush appeared on her face, "Did you really have to go and kick me, though?"_

 _Haruko folded her arms and replied indignantly, "It's the only way to get my point across with you! I swear, you can be so stubborn at times…"_

 _One can definitely say that 'little' Haruko had changed over the years. Now wearing the girl's uniform of her school she shot up a bit in height, coming up to his chest. She also grew her hair out a bit, having to put it in a pony tail. Tall, lithe, and cute were three ways to describe her as she was now._

 _She was definitely going to grow up into a beautiful young woman one day._

 _Takeru finally joined in on the conversation, "That's besides the point! Now that you're here, we can finally take that picture you wanted."_

" _He's right," Zane shrugged nonchalantly, "I still am_ technically _skipping classes just to be here for you."_

 _Haruko blushed again, "Alright, I get it, j_ eez. _"_

 _After taking a few moments to get his camera, Haruko got into position._

" _Alright. Say: 'Getreadyforhell'-," he felt Takeru elbow him in his side, "Ow. I mean 'Cheese'!"_

 _The camera flashed, capturing the moment in time._

 _Haruko was smiling wide as her hands were behind her back. It was just another one of those moments they would treasure together._

" _Ah, damn it! You blinked. Now I gotta take_ another _one!"_

"Big Bro _!"_

" _Calm down! I'm just messin', little bro."_

 _Haruko couldn't help but to laugh._

…

 ** _10 months later_**

 _The sun hung high in the sky, it's unburdened rays going uninterrupted as the clouds seemed non-existent. It was in the middle of June and the summer heat was only bearable because of the cool breeze that rolled. Overall, it was a nice day to be outside._

 _Two figures stood on a grassy hill of a public park, birds chirped as they flew through the air above them. They stayed under a low hanging tree to catch a good bit of shade from the intense rays. The taller of the two looked around them for a few seconds._

" _This seems mildly symbolic for something." Zane mumbled._

" _What was that?"_

" _Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry about it." He turned to look at her, his arms folded behind his head as he held a relaxed posture, "I thought it would be a good idea spend some time together..." he paused, "Without Takeru this time."_

 _Haruko's cheeks flushed with heat as she started bashfully kicking the dirt a bit, "I'm really glad you decided to bring us here." She twirled a lock of her hair between her fingers, trying to placate her growing anxiety, "I've actually been wanting to tell you something important." Her blush deepened._

 _Zane closed his eyes and his lips formed a neutral, thin line, "…Same here…"_

 _Haruko perked up at his words, "Oh! You do, too?" She brought a hand up to place some of her hair behind her ear as the wind picked up a bit, "You can go first."_

 _He sighed to himself as he prepared for what came next, "I…uh…" The words struggled to form from his mouth for a few seconds. He racked his brain, 'Come on. Just say it. It'll be like ripping off a band aid.'_

" _Hmm?" Haruko leaned in a bit, looking up at him with anticipation shining in those light blue pools of hers._

 _He almost nearly lost himself in them._

 ** _Why do you hesitate? This Isn't like you._**

 _Oh, great. It's_ him _again. He became vaguely aware that time around him had seem to come to a halt as well. He released a mental sigh._

' _Hello_ Sensei _…'_

 ** _Ah-ha! So you_** **finally** ** _concede and give me the respect I deserve, did you?_**

' _I honesty don't understand your weird fascination with me calling you that.' A question popped up in his mind, 'And why is it that every time we talk like this, time freezes?'_

 ** _You ask of me as if it was_** **my** ** _doing._**

' _Isn't it?'_

 ** _Nope. All you._**

' _What?'_

 ** _It's that uncanny ability of yours to absorb and channel energy through your body. When you focus your thoughts, you use a small fraction of that power to enhance your brain. Thus, causing you to think faster than any normal human which also makes it_** **seem** ** _like time is slowed down._**

 ** _The world's time isn't frozen, you're just thinking so fast that your own_** **perception** ** _of time is slowed._**

' _Neat...'_

 ** _Nevermind that, aren't we here to talk about why you're being such a puss? Did you already forget your training? Hesitation is for the weak._**

' _Look,_ you _try telling a girl that you like that you have to leave! I've known for a long time now that she likes me too, but, it's just that I don't know how to tell her without hurting her.'_

…

 ** _...You know what you have to now, right?_**

' _What's that, huh?'_

 ** _Take your hand._**

' _Okay.'_

 ** _Reach down._**

 _Zane grunted sarcastic affirmation. He already knew what was coming next._

 **GRAB** ** _those two handing sacks dangling between your legs and man the hell up!_**

' _That wasn't very nice.'_

 ** _Tough. You may not know this, but, most women aren't as emotionally frail as portrayed in those TV shows that you watch. What were they called again?_**

' _Anime. And they aren't_ that _bad.'_

 ** _Doesn't matter! Just tell her and get it over with. She's almost thirteen, I'm pretty sure she'll have enough time to get over a little bit of heartache._**

' _Alright, fine! I'll do it, jeez,' he started to stray from his own thoughts as time resumed, 'Fuckin' asshole…'_

" _You see, Haruko, the thing is…," the urge to stall further started to emerge again before he crushed it mercilessly, "I going to be leaving, very soon."_

 _He could practically_ feel _her heart stop for a moment as her eyes widened. He stood firm regardless._

" _W-what?" Her voice was just above a whisper, but he heard it clear as day._

" _I won't be going to the high school here. I'll be moving to Tenbi to attend the school there." He continued after noticing her continued silence, "It's apparently the only place in the world that's specifically for special people like me."_

 _He had_ _to get stronger._

 _He could the see the her slowly start to process his words as her expression turned somber, "Will we ever see each other again?"_

"… _I don't know."_

 _Four years is a long time. Many things could change in that time frame. For all she knew, he would have already found a girlfriend._

 _She already knew how most of the older girls in her school wanted to date him whenever they saw him waiting for her outside the front gates. And lord knows how popular he would be when he went to high school…_

 _Suddenly, as if she come to some epiphany, Haruko's mood brightened and a large smile found its way on her face._

 _Zane's eyes widened a bit when he felt_ something _begin to form deep within her heart. It was too faint to tell, though, it did have power radiating off of it._

 _He was pulled out of his thoughts when she spoke once more, "If you have to go far away to get stronger, then, I will get stronger too." She raised her hands to both sides of his face, resting them gently on his cheeks._

 _He grunted and flinched a bit in surprise at the action. A minor blush found its way onto his face. His dull grey eyes locked onto her light sapphire as he stood frozen within her steady gaze._

 _God… he couldn't get enough of how smooth her skin felt…_

 _She started to lean up closer towards him, getting on her tippy toes a bit._

" _Because I want to be by your side…"she closed her eyes._

 _Their lips met for the briefest of moments._

 _The muscles in Zane's body seemed to lock up at the subtle sensation on his lips. It felt as though a slight pleasurable shock ran though his system._

" _Just promise me that you'll wait for me, okay?"_

 _It was in a bare whisper, the proximity of their faces were not unlike that of passionately close lovers. Her eyes were still closed as she leaned back and let her hands fall to her sides after what seemed like an eternity._

 _She opened her eyes and smiled up at him, joy and amusement sparkling in her sky blue orbs. She then turned around and started walking off with a giddy skip to her step._

 _Zane was left alone on the hill with lips still slightly parted and grey eyes staring dully off at space._

 _He blinked a few times._

" _Well! Are you coming or not?! Hehehe!"_

"… _M-mm…j-just give me a sec, alright!" He had just regained control of his legs when he started jogging after her._

 _She continued to giggle and laugh, unrestrained._

…

 ** _2 months later_**

" _I, the Principal of this wondrous school, would like to personally welcome all of you First years to our Tenbi Academy!"_

 _As the older man on the podium spoke to the various young men and women in their 'Freshman' year sat in chairs surrounding the stage and a center platform in the middle of the gymnasium. Many emotions ran through the assembly of students; the most prominent one being_ lust.

 _Sitting in the back row as he was, Zane could see why that was._

 _Sitting behind the principal were five Third year students, three of them being girls and two of them boys._

 _He could already hear hushed whispers from a majority of the female populous about how one of boys looked 'hot' and had a gentleman's demeanor. The other boy looked a bit gruff looking, giving off a delinquent look._

 _Although, he could sense something 'off' about the first male, he was definitely hiding something…_

 _Zane knew who these two were; the first one being Akaya Kodai and the second being Gen Tagayashi._

 _His eyes panned towards the other three students behind the principal._

 _Oh... He could definitely say that he couldn't blame the males of his year for their lust-filled gazes now._

 _The last three were obviously young women, beautiful ones at that._

 _The first one had light brown hair - one could even call it pale-ish orange – that flowed down to just below her neck. Her eyes were very nearly closed but his enhanced vision could pick up the light hazel orbs under her eyelashes. Her skin was almost pale but still held that cream-like color. The smile on her delicate face only added to her pleasant aura. Even though her posture was calm and inviting, his instincts told him otherwise._

 _She was dangerous. As if she were a sheathed sword, ready to be drawn at any moment._

 _The second beauty had short red hair. Where as his brother, Takeru, also had red hair; her hair was more of a deep crimson while Takeru's was more of an burnt orange-ish red. Her hair was kept short by a black ribbon. The light tan on her skin showed that she liked to be active outside quite a bit. The large grin on her face projected the abundant confidence she held of her self and her abilities. He could clearly see a burning fire in her brown eyes. A blazing passion filled them as she gazed openly at the audience, searching for something in the crowd._

 _A small grin formed on Zane's face at the prospect of fighting this woman, though, he covered it with his hand. The power rolling off of her called out to him and his blood started to boil in excitement while his heart started to race._

 _*_ ** _Ba-Bum_** _**_ ** _Ba-Bum_** _*_

 _He placed a hand on his chest and steadied his breathing to calm himself._

 _Not yet…_

 _There was definitely something special about this young woman. There were only a select few who could draw out that kind of reaction from him._

 _Power attracted power, after all._

 _A statement that was proven true once more as her eyes suddenly locked onto his. Maybe her instincts were also reacting to his subtle rise in power. She probably didn't notice how or why she was reacting herself since she didn't even try to hide the light blush or the fact that she was starting to sweat._

 _He was the first to break eye contact. He didn't want to start anything._

 _Yet…_

 _Although, the last girl on stage did get his blood pumping for other, uh… reasons._

 _This one was certainly_ blessed _by Mother Nature herself._

 _Though, that's not to say that every other girl that goes to this school wasn't alluring in one way or another._

 _She sat in her chair with a nervous and reserved posture, fidgeting periodically. Most likely from all the stares Her skin wasn't pale at all, but, it didn't have any tan to it either. Her hair was long and it fell down to her thighs. It reminded him of Haruko's hair color in similarity. Although, Haruko's was more dark purple and this woman's was deep blue. Her face and light brown eyes had a gentle and benevolent quality to them, even though she was looking down to avoid the stares from many of the male students sitting down near him._

"Duuuude _! Just look at the tits on that chick right there!"_

 _Thank you, random male student, for pointing that out._

 _Ahh, yes… like most of the other women at this school, this girl had a huge rack. Probably the biggest one he's seen. It was really a shame that the female uniforms were fitting to their bodies so well._

 _How the hell_ _do they expect the men of this school to concentrate?!_

 _It was also a good thing that the boy whispered that, otherwise, he probably would've been pummeled by the indignant and self-conscious first years in the crowd._

 _That didn't really matter to him right now, though. He knew these three figures as well._

 _The first one being Tomiko Amado while the second was Minori Rokujou._

 _He vaguely remembered seeing the third one a while back when he was thirteen and was still doing physical checkups with Dr. Takehito. The doctor did mention that it was "Bring you child to work Day"._

 _And judging from the blush on her face back then, she saw him when he was doing those push-ups without his shirt on._

 _Her name was Aki Nijou, daughter of Dr. Takehito Nijou._

 _The doctor had already told him about these five students and how they made up Maken Ki, a group of Maken users that defend Tenbi Academy from those that choose to use Element for 'wrong doings'._

" _So it's with our hope that you only get stronger in your pursuit for the Eight Original Maken and keep our world from falling into darkness!"_

 _Zane tilted his head, 'Eight Original Maken?'_

" _So, to begin, I would like to ask for two volunteers to come up to the middle platform to demonstrate a sanctioned duel!"_

 _Zane could no longer hide the fierce grin on his lips._

 _He stood up and lazily raised a hand, some of his bones creaked from sitting down for quite a while. The grin on his face disappeared, as if it hadn't even existed in the first place…_

" _I volunteer as tribute."_

 _Everyone turned their heads towards him when he spoke up and he swore that he could already hear the whispers about him._

" _What the hell?!" One boy exclaimed._

 _"I didn't even see him there. Had he been sitting there the entire time?!" Another boy asked, surprised._

" _Oh, wow… How did we_ _not_ _notice him sitting right next to us?" After girl over to Zane's left sighed dreamily, "He's so_ tall _~!_

 _Oh, boy…_

 _Another girl gushed, "I know, right! And that tan he has makes him look so~," she licked her supple lips sensually, "_ yummy."

 _Oh, great. Not even a day and he was already popular with the ladies. He assumed it won't be long before-_

" _Bastard! Not even a day of school has gone by and he's already gained all of the attention!"_

" _It's not fair!"_

" _I hope he dies."_

 _And so begins the rain of salty male tears…_

" _Quiet down everyone!" The principal silenced the crowd of students, "Now then, who would you like to challenge to a duel?"_

 _Zane already knew who he wanted to fight. They had been staring him down for a while now._

 _He pointed up a the five upper classmen behind the principal. Specifically, the girl with dark red hair._

" _I'll fight her."_

 _Many gasps erupted from the assembly of students. Whispers of doubt and disbelief floated about the room._

" _No way! He wants to challenge one of the third years?!"_

" _Why her? Doesn't he know who she is?"_

" _Ohh man, this guy's going to get destroyed_ _before the school year begins. This is going to be_ embarrassing _!"_

 _Most of the members' of Maken Ki eyes widened. Tomiko's eyes fully opened, the smile on her face nowhere to be seen._

 _Minori only grinned wider and stood up from her seat. She placed her fists on her hips, "That's quite the challenge there! Who am I to deny this opportunity to test out the knuckleheads of this year." She pointed back at Zane, "I accept!"_

" _Let's not waste any time then."_

 _All heads turned towards the young man's voice and saw him standing on one side of the platform, the jacket and tie of his uniform already discarded off to the side._

" _The fuck?!" one male student exclaimed, "How'd he get there so fast? He was standing in the back_ literally _not even_ _a second ago!"_

" _He's so fast!"_

 _The grin on Minori's face couldn't get any wider. She wasted no time as she jumped from the stage over to the other side of the platform across from him, inadvertently flashing some of the students her panties._

 _As stood up from her landing she looked back at Zane only to falter slightly as her cheeks flushed red again at the sight in front of her…_

 _Zane was in the process of unbuttoning his shirt, exposing more of his tanned muscular chest and abs. After tossing that away he stood in front of everyone in only his pants, shoes, and fingerless black leather gloves._

 _As he tightened the gloves on his hands, everyone took in the sight of his impressive physique. He was certainly a tall young man as he stood at about six foot three and had broad shoulders. His frame was comparably lithe to most body builders yet had pronounce, toned muscles on his chest, back, arms and stomach. The six pack he had appeared to be carved out of stone. Many didn't fail to notice the black tattoos on his arms and chest. A pair of arm band-like tattoos ran around both biceps and forearms while another set of large teeth-like tattoos ran from both sides of his upper back, over his collarbone, and finally ending at each side of his pecks._

 _The Maken Ki members to were the only ones to take note of the obsidian gem that was embedded in the middle of his chest, right where the two parts of the collarbone would meet._

" _OH GOD~! He looks so_ wild _~!"_

" _His hair, those eyes, the tattoos, and that_ body _…I can't take it! He's so hot I might die!"_

 _Zane didn't even dare to look at the crowd of students…_

" _Fuck this guy!" One irate male shouted over the gushing female first years, "So he's good-looking, muscular, and mysterious? How Gary-sue can ya get?!"_

 _Zane took a moment to turn body towards the peeved group of boys, raised an arm…_

… _and promptly flipped them the bird with a dull look on his face._

" _Shut up, you're annoying."_

 _Well, that didn't help_ at all _._

 _He did take notice of that fact that Minori was laughing a bit at his unfortunate interaction with the other first year boys. She composed herself before settling in a stance of her own, both of her arms held up to chest level with her legs spread a ways apart with the right side of her body mostly facing Zane._

 _Zane settled in his own stance as well, the left side of his body mostly facing her, legs spread with knees bent, his left arm bent raised vertically in front of him and his right arm held close to his stomach while both hands were balled into tight fists._

 _Minori couldn't help but to lick her lips, "Not that mind the view, but, was it_ really _necessary to take off your shirt?"_

 _He only shrugged his shoulders a bit, his face still neutral, "I didn't want to mess up my new uniform. You know how much it costs to get a new one?"_

" _Heh. Good point."_

 _There was a few moments of silence as both combatants stared each other down. Then the principal threw a hand down._

" _Begin!"_

 _Zane suddenly sprinted forward at moderate velocity his right fist reared back. Minori stood her ground and waited as he got closer. She could see the blatant right hook from a mile away. Anyone could. So she waited…_

 _And waited…_

… _Then she struck, 'Now!'_

 _Her counterattack was quick and powerful. Within an instant she put most of her weight on he back leg and threw a straight high kick towards his face with so much force that the air around her leg_ rippled _and dispersed violently._

 _Time seemed to come to a slow crawl as her foot was mere seconds from connecting with his head. Just when the foot made contact with his forehead, her foot seemed to just_ pass _right_ through _him_.

 _One instant he was in front of her and the next instant his image just blurred out of existence, 'What?!' Her eyes widened and just as she was in the process of dropping her leg, she felt her own world tilt._

 _The air flew out of her lungs as she gasped in surprise as she felt her back leg swept out from under her and she felt her body began to descend backwards. She saw his larger frame suddenly blur into view at the corner of her eye on her left flank._

 _He was already in the process of winding his right leg back for a fierce attack._

 _Minori barely had enough time to twist her upper body and bring her arms in to block when his leg connected with her body with a loud_ ** _slam_** _. The bones in her body shook and pain shot through her arms as she was launched to another side of the platform. She rolled a few times before she recovered back to her feet with shaking arms and a slightly grimaced face while panting for breath a bit._

 _The entire room was silent. Mouths were agape and eyes were wide. Not even the members of Maken Ki were able to believe what they were seeing. The strongest student of the school was being pushed back! Not even Akaya and Tomiko were able to follow the young man's movements entirely. He was just so fast._

 _Right when Minori's kick was about to land, his entire body just_ blurred _and in the next instant he was behind her already in the process of sweeping her leg with his right foot. Just after taking her balance away, his form blurred again and he was on her left side when he knocked her away with a kick of his own._

 _It all happen in a mere couple of seconds._

 _Zane exhaled through his mouth and those with good vision could see a small stream of steam flow out of his mouth. He stood up straight with his hands now in the pockets of his pants and sighed._

 _It was a sigh of disappointment._

" _You should know better than to hurt a warrior's pride, ya know."_

 _Minori's eyes widened a bit more at his words._

" _I already knew who you were before I challenged you." Some people in the room gasped, "Minori Rokujou, 'The Human Meteorite' and wielder of the Maken: Dragon Ace."_

" _I knew full well_ who _I was challenging." He then pointed at her, "You were they only one in this entire room that was able to spot me out in the crowd!"_

 _He continued on, "Just like you, I am also and expert when it comes to manipulating the energy in my body. These tattoos that you see," he pointed to the ones on his arm, "are power restriction seals that I have been placed with to hold back most of abundant Element within my body so that I don't accidently cause destruction on a day-to-day basis. I also brought my power down further to a point where my_ presence _didn't seem to exist. "_

 _Everyone in the room was astonished by this news. The possibilities of his skills could be_ immense _._

" _Only a couple of people I know can do that." His grey eyes sharpened as he gazed at her, "The fact that you were able to as well means you have quite a bit of power as well."_

" _So stop holding back."_

 _Silence hung in the air once more as everyone stared at Minori, expecting her to respond._

 _She only stood there, her hair coming down to shadow her eyes from view. Then, as if a switch was flipped, her gaping mouth morphed into a wide grin as her eyes blazed once more with a burning passion, "Heh! You may be two years younger than me, but, you're totally turning out to be my type!"_

 _..._

" _Huh?"_

 _She placed her fists on her hips, a blush heavily placed on her cheeks, "Let's make a wager!" she pointed to herself, "If I win, you will join Maken Ki!"_

" _WHAT?!" The entire room of students shouted at once._

 _Zane took a moment to look over at the other Maken Ki members. He noticed how both Tomiko and Aki blushed and turned away from him bashfully._

 _A small smirk found it's way onto his lips and he looked back to Minori to respond, "That does sound appealing, not gonna lie… Alright, I'll bite. If I win, I'll tell you my name so you'll know who to challenge next time when I beat you."_

 _Minori dropped down to her stance once again as she preparing to rush him. She then summoned Dragon Ace to her hands for the first time this semester._

 _She was getting serious now._

" _But don't think for a second that I'm going to make this easy for you…"_

 _The tattoos on Zane's forearms began to glow brightly as he got back in his fighting stance as well._

" ** _Tier One seal: Release."_**

 _Like shackles, the seals broke off and shattered into smaller particles of light._

 _Then all hell broke loose._

…

" _And that was how we nearly destroyed the gymnasium."_

 _Zane laid on the couch in the living room of his apartment, lazily watching TV. Hours had already gone by when the school ended. News of his duel with Minori and the near destruction of a moderate part of the academy travel throughout Tenbi._

 _People had already started calling him 'The UnHuman'._

 _It seemed quite fitting for some reason._

" _I kind of figured that had been your doing." Takehito walked into the room, jotting some random notes down, "My instruments picked up your elevated heart rate. She must've worked you up quite a bit to have accomplished that."_

" _Yeah, she_ was _pretty resilient." He took a sip of his soda, "I still won, though."_

" _Just as expected. Has Bokyaku spoken to you yet since the last time you trained with him?"_

" _Nah. He's still sleeping, apparently."_

" _But what about you though, old man?" The Doctor glanced at Zane as the young man looked back, eyes narrowed, "Why didn't you come with me up to the school. I'm pretty sure your daughter would've been happy to see the father she hadn't seen in two years."_

 _Takehito didn't respond immediately. Zane frowned a bit at the lack of response and raised a brow, still waiting._

…

" _It's nothing personal towards her or her mother, if that's what you're wondering." Takehito paused while turning away from the boy, "It's just that some old_ problems _have started to come up again and I think it would be better if they weren't involved, that's all."_

" _Which reminds me…"_

 _Zane tilted his head in mild curiosity, "Hmm?"_

" _An old friend of mine told me not too long ago that something is going to happen that will change our world. Forever." He turned to look towards Zane again, the look in his eyes was indescribable, "I'm going to need you to promise me something."_

 _The boy stood up straight and folded his arms as they held each other's gaze. There weren't many instances were Zane saw any kind of trepidation from the man; mainly because he knew there wasn't anything these days that could cause him to feel that way._

 _Zane's eyes widened and his lips gaped a bit._

 _But, in that moment, when he saw one single golden tear run down the seemingly infallible man's face, he knew…_

" _Promise me... that you'll protect the only family I have left."_

… _hard times are definitely closing in._

…

 ** _7 months later_**

 _{"This is breaking news!"} a woman in a suit said over the television, {"There have been urgent reports from police and citizens near Tenbi Academy that some kind of strange phenomena is occurring at the school. Many are saying there have been random earthquakes, loud explosions, and sightings of strange creatures around the campus grounds."}_

 _She paused in her report as she placed a hand over her earpiece, {"Hold on! This just in, we actually have one of our news cast members on scene! We'll now bring it to you live with our man on scene, Homura Amari."}_

 _The TV screen suddenly switched over to a man in a suit standing in front of the camera, {"As you can see behind me, the local Tenbi law enforcement has already blockaded anyone and everyone from entering onto the Academy grounds! Ambulances and emergency staff have been pulling out mildly injured to heavily students while teachers and other Academy staff have been continuously escorting more students off the grounds!"}_

 _The ground started to shake again as a gigantic explosion of fire could be seen in the background, causing most of the surrounding people to scream in fright. Then violent torrents of wind whipped through the air when a giant pillar of deep crimson light rose to the sky and black, thunderous clouds spread from the pillar. The clouds eclipsed the evening sky, darkening the entirety of Tenbi._

 _When the news crew recovered from the initial blast, Homura and the cameraman immediately jogged over to one of the teachers, {"Sir! You're one of the teachers at the academy, right? Do you know what's going on?"}_

 _{"None of us know what is going on exactly, but, what we do know is that some male first year student just suddenly went crazy and murdered the principal! After that, a giant circle opened up on the track field!"}_

 _The teacher continued on, {"Then as if the very gates of hell opened up, these demonic creatures started spewing out of the portal and began attacking the students! It was by some miracle that some of the third years and members of Maken Ki were able to fight off some of those creatures. Though, not without casualties…"}_

 _{"Did anyone die?!"}_

 _{"No, though we would have hadn't been for one first year student. Most of us couldn't even believe what we were seeing! He just tore through them without mercy. There was so much blood. He was practically soaked in it. It wasn't until we heard that the members Maken Ki were having trouble trying to take down the student responsible for this that he disappeared in a blur."}_

 _{"What was this student's name?"} Homura had to get the name of this unknown hero._

 _{"I think the boy's name was Zane Oyama."}_

 _Just then, another loud_ ** _boom_** _rang out and the shockwave that followed nearly knocked everyone over._

 _{"What's that in the sky?!"} Someone called out. The camera focused on the two figures in the sky._

 _Two figures seemed to be held in a deadlock with one another. Both_ radiated _with visible power. It was still kind of hard to see the figures in clear detail but the visuals could pick up few details. One figure had hair that burned with vibrant red energy and small discharges of red arcs of lightning could be seen rolling of their form while the other figure radiated pure darkness. The other figure's form couldn't be distinguished under all the thick shroud._

 _Suddenly, both figures disappeared and just as suddenly reappeared in another clash; this time causing a smaller shockwave, only to disappear again. Every time they would reappear in more clashes and exchanges. Many shockwaves rang out and littered the sky above the panicking people._

 _Then the dark figure lunged and crashed into the other one, causing them to come crashing back down towards the grounds of the school. The following impact shook the very earth beneath their feet._

 _The video feed fizzled out._

…

 _Zane could hardly believe just how_ shitty _the day has been._

 _He never would have expected to face a direct descendant of the only human to become the_ physical embodiment _of evil. And apparently, he had a Maken that worked just like his abilities. Except when he could only safely absorb_ positive _energy; this guy could absorb only_ negative _energy, which was more abundant around here for some reason._

 _Great._

 _Not to mention that this piece of shit murdered the principal and opened up a portal to a different dimension, bringing for a small army of - what appeared to be - interdimensional demons that then started to attack his friends and fellow students. He knew he had to work fast; these people weren't use to this kind of violence._

 _He would understand if they thought differently of him after killing these things in such brutal fashion._

 _He was Unhuman after all._

 _It wasn't until he overheard a student yelling out that the members of Maken Ki were having trouble that he wasted no time rushing to where he felt their energies._

 _When he arrived at the track field he saw that all the members that made Maken Ki were scattered along the ground, haven already been beaten severely and barely conscious. His anger rose._

 _Then he spotted Minori being held by the throat by the_ **bastard** _. For each and every scratch, bruise, and gash on her body, Zane could feel his power rise from his inner rage. There were only very few things in this world that would make him absolutely_ livid.

 _Hurting the ones he cared for was one of them._

" ** _Second Tier Seal: Release."_**

 _As the tattoos on his biceps glowed and shattered, he felt power spread throughout his entire being. It felt like raging inferno was trapped in his body, but instead of burning him, he only felt elated by the power within him and how it felt so familiar to him._

 _He also took note of the fact that his hair now seemed to glow a vibrant, chaotic red and how his vision was tinted in red as well. The blood that covered him evaporated of his clothing and skin from the heat he produced._

 _It seemed the_ **asshole** _took notice in the sudden rise of energy as well. He casually tossed Minori off at the side next to Aki, who almost didn't catch her._

 _No words were exchanged between the two young men as they immediately charged each other, their respective launches kicking up dirt and gravel._

 _Zane was the first to land an uppercut on the shrouded figure, launching him into the sky with Zane following after him._

 _The conscious members of Maken Ki were then treated to a fight between two different_ monsters _._

 _If it wasn't for the fact of how dire their situation was, Minori would have commented on how utterly_ manly _Zane looked fighting right now._

 _Aki and Tomiko would've agreed._

 _Gen and Akaya couldn't be more glad to actually get a lucky break from the beating they were getting before he showed up._

 _It wasn't until they start to notice how as the battle went on, Zane was being put on the defense more._

 _Zane_ only _dodged in a fight when he felt_ pushed _…_

 _Which was why they started to panic when the other boy shoulder checked Zane into the ground below, kicking up more dirt and gravel as they plowed a deep trench into the earth. When the dust settled, they saw Zane body steaming from the fresh wounds he gained, his uniform shirt in tatters._

 _His teeth were gritted and his eyes were widened as he deeply inhaled air through his teeth to get oxygen that he lost back into his lungs. Just as he took a step forward, he faltered in his footing before catching himself._

 _When he looked back up, he saw the shrouded boy in front of him with his right arm raised, dark energy covering it and extending outward like a blade._

 _Zane's eyes widened._

 _The boy grinned savagely and swung downward._

 _Zane raised his left arm to block the strike, but it proved useless as the energy blade cut straight through his forearm, then across his chest and stomach like hot butter. His life blood spilled outwards onto the dirt and grass._

 _Minori and the others froze in shock. Their minds couldn't fathom the shear_ impossibility.

 _Zane was suppose to be unstoppable. Not once did he ever lose in a fight to_ anyone _throughout the school year. Everyone respected and feared him for his strength._

 _He wasn't suppose_ _to_ lose _…_

 _As if a puppet cut from his own strings, Zane dropped down to his knees as his right arm hung loosely. His blazing red eyes shrunk into small points as they shook._

 _His still remained unresponsive when the very same dark energy blade gently settled itself at his neck. The corrupted boy stood above him with an unreadable expression and waited._

 _It seemed like the boy didn't know what it exactly waited for either._

 _Zane only stayed that way and began to recall his life up until this very moment…_

…

 ** _Present time_**

 _Fight…_

That's right…

 _Fight…_

He couldn't die yet…

 _Fight._

He _wouldn't_ die yet…

 _Fight._

It's not in his nature to _give up._

 _Fight!_

He would keep fighting!

 _Fight!_

He would keep fighting until he turned to _dust_!

 ** _FIGHT!_**

He. Was. **Defiance!**

 ** _*Bu-bum*_**

Zane's blazing red eyes grew to normal size again as sparks of equally red electricity shot out of them.

The shrouded boy grinned wickedly again as he sensed the young man's renewed spirit. But right before he could slice his head off, Zane swiped his right hand at the blade with immeasurable speed, shattering it instantly. The young man's body began to glow faintly with a faint red aura as crimson lightning arched from him violently and his eyes became consumed in crimson fire.

" **Surge."**

Zane then lunged forward, tackling the corrupted boy towards the portal.

Time slowed down for him once more…

…

… ** _Are you sure about this, kid?_**

Ah… he had never been so comforted hearing that gravelly voice again.

' _Hell of a time to wake up, don't ya think?'_

 ** _Ah, you know me. I always show up in those crucial moments, when I know when I'm needed._**

' _Yeah… that uncanny ability to be a constant pain in my ass…'_

' _Anyways, since you're here now, I want your permission to release the final seal.'_

 ** _You know the only reason for you to unseal that is if you knew you were going to die…_**

' _Yeah… I know.'_

 ** _And yet you are still willing to do it._**

' _I know we'll enough that there are most likely a legion of interdimensional demons waiting on the other side of that portal. Just waiting to devour us.'_

' _And by taking this bitch with me would close the portal behind us, trapping us there possibly for all time.'_

 ** _Okay…_**

' _And if I'm going out in_ any _way…'_

' _I'm going to take an_ entire world _down with me.'_

 ** _HA! SPOKEN LIKE A TRUE MONSTER! You have my permission, kid._**

 _ **Give'em Hell.**_

Zane lips morphed into a **_monstrous_** grin.

" **Final Tier Seal:…"**

His eyes veered over towards his friends, how they shead tears and cried out to him, how they tried to stay strong, and how they resigned to the fact that his sacrifice would save them. Minori was already up, sprinted towards him, trying to reach out to him.

She would be too slow.

' _I guess it's my time to go… Goodbye Minori, Aki, Tomiko, Gen, Takehito, Takeru, Dad, Inaho, even you Akaya.'_

Any flash of young girls face passed through his mind.

' _Especially you, Haruko… and… I'm sorry.'_

" _Just promise me that you'll wait for me, okay?"_

'… _I won't be able to keep that promise.'_

" **Release!"**

Zane's eyes closed as his body was consumed by crimson flames of energy as he and the corrupted boy fell into the portal right before it closed, forever.

…

Minori could only stare at the muddied soil, on her hands and knees as it rained. The sound of the droplets hitting the ground continuously drowned out every other noise.

Even the sound of her wails couldn't even break through…

…

 _To be continued…_

 ** _AN: Holy SHIT! I'm finally done with this chapter!_**

 ** _This was only meant to be a recollection chapter that would kick start the plot into canon. I didn't mean for it to even be a nearly twenty page fuckin'…umm…_**

… ** _I don't even know what to call it._**

 ** _ANYWAYS! This is where we finally start getting into canon and start making twists and tweaks here and there. This is gonna be fun…_**

 ** _As always, if you like, leave a fav/follow/review, if you'd kindly._**

 ** _See ya next time!_**


	6. Chapter 6

_**AN: I do not own anything but my OC and my idea**_ **f** _ **or the story**_ _._ _ **.**_

 **Chapter Six: Homecoming and Hollow Reunions**

" _I'm going to miss you, Big Bro!" Takeru hugged his older brother around the waist as Zane rubbed his hair with his free hand, his bag of clothes in his right hand as he carried it over his shoulder._

 _A small forlorn smile rested on his face, "It's not that big of a deal, Takeru. I'll still check on you over the phone."_

" _It's not the same."_

 _Haruko stood off at the side as she watched the two brothers share their farewells._

 _This was it. Takehito had already sent most Zane's belongings to his dorm at Tenbi Academy a day before. He stayed for another day longer to gather the rest of his clothes and say his goodbyes to Takeru and Haruko._

 _The only reason she wasn't upset was because of the promise they shared a few weeks ago. She was happy and content with the knowledge that she would see him again, when she attended Tenbi Academy in a few years._

 _She would wait until that day._

" _Well, I guess I'm off." He broke away from his little brother and began to walk out the front door._

" _Wait!" Takeru called out to him, "Aren't you going to say goodbye to Haru too?"_

 _Zane stopped just before exiting, still facing the outside, "I won't do that. She made me promise something important," he turned his head towards them, to Haruko, with a smile on his face, "So I can't really say goodbye to her…"_

 _The door began to close behind him as he began walking onward._

 _He waved his free hand back at them lazily from over his shoulder, "See ya later."_

 _The door closed shut and the room descended into darkness._

…

 _The door was suddenly opened as a black silhouette of a man stepped from the blinding light of the doorway. The figure's features were undistinguishable as he stood there in front of her and Takeru._

 _She didn't know what was going on, yet she couldn't help the feeling of deep-seated trepidation rising in her gut._

" _Takeru... Haruko." The tall figure spoke, his tone as hollow as the grave, "I have terrible news that I must share with the both of you…"_

 _No…_

" _What is it Mr. Takehito?" Takeru couldn't help but to ask._

 _Please…_

" _There was an attack on Tenbi Academy a couple of days ago."_

 _Please… don't…_

 _Takeru took a step forward and yelled, "What?! Is everything okay? What about my big brother?" He then pumped his arms, and grin appearing on his face, "I bet he saved the day! He's the strongest person I know!"_

 _The man placed his hands in the pockets of his lab coat, face still painted in shadow, "Yeah… he did. He did all in his power to save everyone…"_

… _Don't…_

"… _even at the risk of his own life. I'm sorry, but, your big brother is…"_

… _Please…_

"… _he isn't coming back home."_

… _Zane?_

 _The world around her shattered into pieces of pitch black shards, as if she were looking through a glass window. She was left standing in a stark white space that didn't seem to have any end to it._

 _She looked down at her feet only to find that she didn't even leave a shadow, as if she were standing on nothing but space itself._

 _Something_ red _came into view. It collected itself into a stream of crimson liquid that pooled at her feet until she was standing in a large puddle of the unknown substance. She allowed her eyes to follow where the stream originated from…_

 _Her eyes widened when they found the source._

 _Laying on the ground on his stomach with his hands laying by each side of his head, was Zane._

 _He was in his black junior high uniform. It was heavily damaged all over, revealing equally torn, bruised, and lacerated flesh that continued to leak the same red liquid that pooled around him and her feet. It was then that she what exactly the red substance was…_

 _It was blood… Zane's blood…_

 _The pool of blood around Zane continued to grow larger._

 _Haruko screamed out for him, hot tears pouring from her eyes, only for no sound to come out. She screamed out for him again. Still no sound._

 _She gave up on that and decided to act. She ran towards where Zane laid, her feet splashing hard against the blood on the ground. The droplets of blood splattered against her shins and ankles. When she made it to his fallen form she immediately fell to her knees, no longer caring about the gore getting on her body. She bent over to look at his face and tears rained from her with no end in sight…_

 _His face was left untouched but his skin was deathly pale, completely drained of color. His expression was oddly peaceful, almost as if he were only sleeping…_

" _I'm sorry…" His lips suddenly moved as he spoke, "I won't be able to keep that promise."_

 _Just then, several jagged, serrated, twisted obsidian blades pierced into his back with sickening_ _ **squelches**_ _all at once. The force of the sudden impacts sent Haruko onto her backside, splattering more blood onto her body. Her eyes were frantic as she rushed back up to grab ahold of one the blades by the handle and pulled, her teeth gritted._

 _But try as she might, the swords wouldn't budge from their new resting place._

 _It wasn't until a few seconds later that she noticed that Zane's body, along with swords, began to sink into the pool of blood._

 _In a frenzy, she rushed to grab one of his limp arms to try to keep him from sinking further._

 _Her efforts were still futile. He continued to sink…_

 _All that was left of him was the hand that she continued to hold onto. She refused to let go of him._

… _even as she began to sink herself..._

 _She suddenly lost her grip on him._

 _Right when she went to reach for him again, her hands only met blood and nothing else. She froze as tears continued to fall, burning her sore eyes._

 _She suddenly began slamming her hands into the pool. Blood flew everywhere. Even more began soaking her with each swing._

 _Her screams of despair and rage could finally to be heard._

 _She called out to the very heavens the name of the boy she wished to see again with all her being._

…

"ZANE!"

Haruko sprang out of bed screaming, eyes fully widened and pupils dilated. She quieted down instantly when she realized that she had woken up from her nightmare. Her chest heaved as she desperately took deep breaths. After she finally gained control over her breathing, she took note of the familiar weight in her right hand.

She looked and saw that in her hands was her very own Maken, **Murakumo** , the blade that even the gods fear. The blade of light was already fully draw, having been summoned without the scabbard. There were so very few ways to get the blade to be drawn from its sheath; one of them was for blade to be drawn by the strength of the wielder's opponents.

Another was by the wielder's _emotions_. She wasn't surprised by this. It wasn't the first time she summoned Murakumo in her sleep. She had been having that particular dream every once-in-a-while for over the past four years.

Ever since Dr. Nijou informed her and Takeru about what happened to his adopted brother and her close friend.

Her tired, puffy eyes panned over to her clock…

It was already 5:45 in the morning. She sighed, bringing a hand to her sweaty face.

She had originally planned to sleep in a bit until 7:30 a.m. so that she could finally go meet Takeru after all these years, but it seemed like life had other plans.

She might as well take a morning shower and get ready so that she could clear her mind of the torrid thoughts of the past. She didn't want start off her second year at school all depressed.

" _You seriously need to stop worrying so much... Haru…"_

She was sure that _he_ would not have wanted to see her like this.

Keeping that in mind, she de-summoned her Maken and headed to her bathroom to take a warm shower to start off her day.

…

The sun hung high in the sky, the pink peddles from surrounding Sakura trees floated and drifted as the cool breeze carried them through the morning air. One young maiden walked along the stony path that took her from the girl's dorms to the city, her lavender-colored hair flowing in the wind pleasantly. A small smile resided on her lovely face. She had her school bag hanging from her left shoulder.

As she walked she couldn't help thinking about Takeru.

' _It's been three years since we last saw each other; I wonder how he's doing..._ ' With each step she took, more questions filled her mind, ' _He has to have gotten taller by now, right? I can only hope he's a good student..._ '

…

' _I wonder what kind of man he is now…_ '

She could only hope that he hasn't changed too much over the years. Ever since the news of Zane's sudden death, Takeru became oddly… quiet _._ They had been spending less and less time together, even going as far as to blatantly avoid her several times. It wasn't until he entered Junior High that he completely separated himself from everyone that knew him.

Strangely, Dr. Nijou was the only one that still talked to him from time-to-time. Well, it kind of made sense; he was the one who paid for the apartment the two brothers lived in when Takeru ran away from home and Zane followed him after Atsuma's death.

She looked towards the sky soberly, "Oh Taki~, I hope you're doing okay…"

Birds continued to fly through the air, chirping along the way as the beautiful young woman continued to walk.

She was left completely unaware of the tall, built figure off at the side of the path casually leaning on the trunk on a Sakura tree. The details of the man were shadowed in the darkness of the shade the tree provided.

Even though his eyes weren't visible, his head followed her movements, observing her.

Then he was gone…

…

"Takeru! I can only hope that you're getting ready and _not still_ sleeping! Otherwise, you will be late for your first day of high school!"

Takehito could faintly hear muffled shouts of 'Shit! Shit! Shit!' and scrambled shuffling of clothing and sheets from down the hallway before he heard, "Alright! I'll be out in a bit. Just give me a sec!"

The older man could only sigh. He turned towards the front door when he heard someone knock on it.

"Hello! Takeru?" a distinctively feminine voice called out from outside the door, "It's me, Haruko Amaya!"

Takehito began walking to door, his lips curled slightly in a small smile as he thought about the young woman at the front door. He remembered how _timid_ and _innocent_ she used to be; she found it difficult to make friends in her early years on junior high. That was until… his smile fell back into a straight line.

Until he brought them the bad news about Zane…

She went back to school the next year, though, this time she had made friends with some of the girls. She even became a sort of icon for them. She would always be smiling more often, seemingly always in a pleasant mood.

Just last year, during her first year at Tenbi Academy, he went to check up on her; see how she was doing.

She told him that, even though she was now attending to the very school that Zane once went to, she was _content_ with the fact that she was here. She then smiled at him, her eyes closed. Her aura of benevolence shone brightly, almost blinding.

If it were anyone else, that smile would have been genuine.

But…

Takehito wasn't just _anyone else_. For the long life he's lived, he can tell what a 'mask' was when he saw it. He could see right through her facade; that _fake_ smile.

That **hole** in her heart and soul was just as hollow as that very day. And it could only go deeper as the years went by…

When he opened the door, he was a bit surprised to find the relatively tall young woman standing just below his chin.

' _She's certainly gotten taller this past year…_ '

Her eyes widened a bit as she took a quick step back from the threshold and bowed politely, "Oh! I'm sorry about this, Mr. Nijou. I didn't know you would be here." She straightened back up with a delicate brow arched in confusion, "Is Takeru home right now?"

"No harm done," he stepped to the side, "Come inside. Takeru is currently getting ready to leave in his room."

Haruko stepped past him bowing a bit once again, "Thank you."

Takehito closed the door soon after as she went to sit down and at the couch. She looked around in slight wonder at the decently sized apartment, ' _Wow. This apartment is kind of big for one person. How did Taki pay for this?_ '

Both Haruko and Takehito whipped their heads towards Takeru's room when they heard a shout of 'Crap!' followed by something crashing to the ground.

The older man sighed again, "Are you alright in there, Takeru?"

"Yeah, I'm good! I accidentally knocked over some of the boxes in here."

Haruko giggled at that. She almost forgot how clumsy he could be at times.

After a few more minutes of hearing shuffling from behind the door, the boy finally stepped out. Now in the male's variant to the Tenbi Academy.

He patted the shoulder of the dark blue blazer, trying to adjust it, "Ugh, I still don't get why we have to wear the jackets if we don't have to wear them for the _whole_ year."

Haruko stood up and walking into his vision, "Well, silly, for one thing it's a part of our tradition…" she stopped in front on him, "And it helps to have dark colored, long sleeved tops for the Fall and Winter."

Takeru couldn't help the eyes behind his glasses as he gazed upon the curvaceous, busty, and down right _beautiful_ young woman in front of him. Although, pretty she may be, he still felt a bit put off that his childhood friend is as tall – if not – taller than he is now.

"H-Haru?! It really is you, huh?"

She nodded her head, her smile widening a bit, "Who _else_ would I be if I didn't already say so, you big dummy?"

"U-uh, oh! Sorry…"

His head started to tilt downwards and his eyes glued to her rather well endowed chest, already trying to picture what they looked like under the cloth of her uniform. A blushed appeared on his face as less than decent fantasies began filling his hormonal mind.

He could have sworn that he heard Takehito facepalm off at the side.

"I know it's been a long time since we've seen each other, Takeru, but I would _really_ appreciate it if you didn't stare at me like that. It's impolite."

The young man shakily looked up at her only to see that her eyes have closed with a pleasant smile on her lips.

His instincts whispered for him to run away, _far away_.

He shut his eyes tightly while shaking his head violently, trying to rid himself of the perverted thoughts, "S-sorry about that!" He cautiously opened an eye, a bit of sweat poring down his forehead, "It's just that you've gotten really pretty, is all…"

Takehito finally decided to intervene before things got out of hand, "I think it's about time for you two to go," he looked at his watch, "You probably only have, mmm… thirty minutes left."

That seemed to disperse the tense atmosphere instantly.

Realizing what time it was, Haruko's eyes widened as she grabbed her childhood friend's arm and yelled out frantically, "Oh my gosh! I almost forgot what time it was!" She ran out towards the front door, pulling a screaming Takeru with her, "Come on, Taky! We'll be late if we don't hurry!"

Takehito watched with has an amused smile as the two high school students disappeared down the road in a cloud of dust. He had to admit it did look quite comical. He was about to close the door when he suddenly remember something.

"Takeru didn't have his bag with him, did he?"

He didn't even flinch as a dark blur rushed passed him out the open door.

"Nevermind."

…

After passing a few blocks, Haruko slowed down her sprint and the two teens began walking at a leisure pace towards the rest of the way to the academy.

Takeru began to take note of the fact that he forgot to grab his bag, "Aww, crap! I forgot to grab bag."

Haruko looked at him questionably, "What are you talking about?" She pointed at his shoulder, "You've had it with you this entire time."

The boy looked at the bag on him, scratching his head, "Huh… I guess I didn't forget to grab it, I guess."

As the two walked along the path up to the entrance of the school, Haruko could help but to look at the younger man walking next to her fondly. Though, she did have one _major_ question to ask him.

"Hey, Taky?"

"Hmm?" He looked over at her.

"You never told me why you decided to apply for Tenbi Academy. Didn't…" she trailed off as a brief flash of a memory came to her mind, followed by a familiar ache that found its way to her heart, "Didn't… Zane tell you anything about his time here when he attended?"

"…" Takeru remained silent as he looked forward and a bit towards the blue sky. The sunlight reflecting off of his glasses, blocking the view of his eyes. His lips formed a flat line that made him look expressionless.

Haruko frowned and her eyes drooped in depression as she continued to wait for his response.

"…"

"…"

"I'm sorry, Taki-"

"It's okay."

Haruko perked up at his sudden words. He looked back at her, his dispirited green eyes visible to her while a small forlorn smile hung on his lips.

"It may have taken me a while, but I've… come to terms with the reality of it."

At least he hoped he did.

For _weeks_ since Mr. Takehito came to their apartment that day with the news, he had been in _severe_ denial. He refused to believe that his big brother could be beaten by _anything_. To Takeru, his brother was like a superhero; how could he lose?

And it wasn't until a month later that it hit him. His brother did lose…

…and he _wasn't_ coming back.

"But, no, I don't think he told me much about it." He put a hand under his chin as a pensive expression replaced the gloomy one, "For one thing, though, I didn't have to any tests or interviews and it's on campus housing."

His face then degraded into a sleazy, perverted grin, "But mainly, that bad boy just went co-ed again so there's gonna be _loads_ of girls!"

"Oh, I see…" Haruko couldn't help but deadpan, ' _Right. This is still Takeru, after all._ '

"So long 'all-boys' schools! After three years of being surrounded by dudes, I'm ready for some _female action_. My libido's been pent up, tied down, jailed, and suffocated! But for now on, _life's gonna be amazing_ ~. 'Seize the Day', isn't that what they say?" He folded his arms stoutly, "Mm-hm."

"Ugh. Idiot."

"Other than that, though, I don't really know much else." He looked at her again, " _Is_ there anything else I need to know?"

Haruko placed a finger on her chin in thought, "Well, there's martial arts tournament and the Culture Festival Dance-"

Takeru perked up, "A dance?"

"Yeah. It's where the students dress up and participate in various dances. Some girls come and dress up as shrine maidens and dance in those."

He couldn't believe it, "Wait… are you telling me that I'll get to sacred dance with a _shrine maiden_?" He can already see it now… " _Awesome_ …"

Haruko sweat dropped.

"OOH! Do you think they'd be willing to give me a sacred _cleanse_ while they're at it?!"

"IS THAT REALLY ALL THAT MATTERS TO YOU?!"

They were interrupted by short musical tone that rang out throughout the campus. Then a woman's voice spoke out through the public intercoms, {"Attention students! Student Leadership and Welcoming Committee members, please report to your designated areas. Thank you!"}

Haruko began walking when she looked back at Takeru, "That's my queue. I'm the Student Vice-president of the Leadership Committee. You should probably head to the gymnasium for the welcoming ceremony when it starts."

Takeru continued to look upon her form in a blissful daze.

"Oh, and one more thing Taki…"

A sudden breeze picked up, ruffling their hair around in the wind.

And yet…

"You should also visit Zane's memorial. It's over by the fountain towards the center of the campus." Takeru could see it in her eyes as she told him that. How _hollow_ and _empty_ they were that moment very moment, before it vanished just as fast as it appeared.

Not even the silent breeze could provide any sort of comfort.

…

As Minori Rokujou stood in front of the new first-year and returning second-year students on the podium; the very same podium the original principal of the school once stood, she gazed upon the mixed gazes of the male and female students.

It was nostalgic. There was a time where she and her friends sat amongst those seats, excited at the fact that they would be attending a school just for people like them. To not be ridiculed by those who couldn't fathom what they couldn't understand. It wasn't long after that they decided to form Maken Ki together to stop anyone who wanted to use their gifts for evil.

To keep the peace and sanctity of the academy and Tenbi.

A couple years afterwards, she and her friends stood behind the principal as they welcomed the first-years of that time. It was also at the time when she first met _him_. They fought on that very platform and nearly _destroyed_ the gymnasium! She wouldn't lie if she said that trying to fight and seduce Zane into joining Maken Ki had turned her on somethin' fierce.

Over the months, though, casually spending time with him and her friends together, she would even go as far as to say that she fell for him…

It wasn't until that day, four years ago, when she witnessed Zane sacrifice himself to save everyone else from that murdering psychopath. She and her friends were there, damn it!

They saw what _really_ happened.

Yet, after it all, the government made them and others swear to secrecy about it; calling the event that happened four years ago a terrorist attack. They people of Tenbi ate it up; going as far as to build a memorial for Zane on school campus and calling him the 'Hero of Tenbi'.

She was _this_ close from destroying that memorial in a fit of rage, only being stopped by her friends to keep her from doing something that they believed was 'disrespectful'.

What was _disrespectful_ was the fact that memorial exists in the first place! It being there implied that Zane actually did die that day.

There's no proof, there was never a body to confirm such an assumption. She _refused_ to believe that he was… that he was…

…And yet…

There's no proof of him being able to come back, either. The portal closing made sure of that.

Over the years, every time she looked at that _damn_ memorial statue, the doubt in her heart would grow further. Only a small sliver of hope remained and she wasn't even sure how long _that_ would last. When there were times where the heartache was too much to handle, she would turn to drinking.

It's become a habit at this point. Just to numb the pain.

She focused back on the students in front of her and continued her speech so as to not lose herself in the past again, "Pay attention everyone, this is our motto," she smiled as she gestured to the sign of the three kanji behind her, "Heart, Beauty, Body. It's important to keep you heart and body strong and beautiful!"

Most of the female students smiled at this while a few male ones looked quizzical at the feminine motto. Although, it did make a lot of sense, since the school was recently an all-girls school.

"This motto is not going to change just because we're no longer an girls-only school. I want you all to keep this in mind and obey the school rules in absolutely _everything_ you do; be it _love_ or _battle_ ~!"

…

As Haruko stood off at the side from the podium with another female Welcoming Committee member that wore glasses, she couldn't help as a stray image of a handsome young man with spikey black hair entered her mind. Her expression remain placid, still.

Love… There was once a time where she would have gladly accepted such a concept.

…

"To accomplish that goal, each of you will be given an Element you will need to master during your pursuit of obtaining the Eight Maken. If you conquer your element and can hold one of the Maken, your body and heart will be strong and beautiful for the rest of your life!"

Minori could tell there were still a few students that couldn't completely understand, so she continued, "I suppose I should _show_ you what I'm talking about instead of just talking, right?"

She then brought the audiences attention to the other two women standing off at the side of the room, by the wall. The first girl with her hands on her hips had long flowing sky blue hair that was tied with a dark blue ribbon, "Class 2B Number 6: Garrett Kinua!" The second girl with her arms crossed had short red hair and a band-aid on her nose, "Class 2B Number 7: Azuki Shinatsu!"

There was a few tense moments of silence as the two proud women glared each other down.

Garrett was the first to give in as she sighed in resignation, "Principal Rokujou, unfortunately, I've already _finished_ my battle with Azuki."

This was news to Minori, "What? Who won?"

Azuki smirked smugly, "Obviously, the winner was me!"

Garrett sighed again, "Alas! My poor darling Kuu's heart must be _breaking_ in two~!" She began posturing in a dramatic fashion, tears flaking from her eyes, "He's going to be forced to spend the rest of his nights weeping into his pillow, while Azuki cuddles him against his will~!"

…

As whispers began to float around the room about how the supposed 'tough girl' of Tenbi Academy would fight over something as girly and childish as a stuffed bear, a mysterious figure stood up one of the hanging light fixtures.

He chuckled.

A teddy bear? Seriously? Whatever. He guessed everyone has some sort of obsession, and apparently the 'tough' red haired girl's was teddy bears….

His and everyone else's attention turned to the entrance doors as they were opened up by a man in a white lab coat. Gasps resounded out from the room of students as most of them recognized the prominent figure.

"Isn't that…"

" _Dude_! Check it out! It's _T_ _he_ Miracle Worker, in the flesh!"

"Is he going to be a teacher at this school?"

"Rumor has it that, for the past few months, he has been recently travelling with someone else as well. People are saying that this person was, like, his aid or something."

"Wasn't it on the news about a month ago that this person single-handedly took down a major gang of secret Element users in Japan?" a girl couldn't help but to ask out loud. She tried to rack her brain for anything essential, "There was never a clear a clear description, picture, _or_ video of them, though."

"Yeah, it's really mysterious…"

The older man continued walking up to the podium, ignoring all of the confused and amazed stares he was receiving from the mass of students in the room.

Minori was as much in the same boat, "Mr. Nijou? What's the meaning of this interruption? Although, that's not to say that it isn't a peasant surprise…"

Takehito stopped right next to her, his expression calm and neutral. He held out a envelop out to her, "Aki told me that _you_ forgot to open this and had me run this to you in her stead."

She began to open the envelope, "And what, exactly, is in this envelope that makes it _so_ important?"

As she pulled out a couple of papers, the older man decided to elaborate, "These are the files and paperwork for me and my associate's employment at this academy."

This definitely got another round of excited whispers from the audience. Takeru and Haruko were also surprised at this occurrence.

Minori began to scan over the papers, "Really?!" She paused in her skimming to look at the man, "Well, we still have to get on with the battle demonstration."

She then turned to look back to the room of students, "Alright! Since our original demonstrators have already settled their battle, we will need a couple of volunteers!" She brought a hand to her forehead as if she were searching for something, "So, who would like to volunteer, hmm?"

A girl with blond hair in two long pigtails gracefully hopped onto the platform, "Ms. Rokujou," her vivid green eyes flashed with hidden intent, "I'm Kodama Himegami." There was a pause as a few of the boys in the seats gawked at her air of nobility, "And I volunteer for this –"

There was a sudden slight rush of air by her as a larger more prominent figure vaulted onto the platform, landing next to her.

"Go sit back down, _pipsqueak_."

Kodama took a step back at the sudden intrusion, anger in her eyes, "Excuse…" she trailed off as she had to tilt her head higher to get a look at the, admittedly, intimidating figure, "… you?"

Everyone in the room feasted their eyes on the _tall_ young man that stood up on the platform.

Standing at – _at least_ – six feet, the boy had fair skin with wild-ish dark blond hair that was spiked upwards and ice blue eyes. He currently had his hands in the pockets of his slightly modified uniform.

He still had the jacket, but decided to wear it as more of a cape while the tie was nowhere to be found. The dress shirt had the first button from the top unbuttoned, revealing a small portion of his chest and collarbone. The sleeves to the shirt were completely ripped all the way up to the shoulders, leaving his highly muscular arms bare to the world. The shirt and pants seemed to strain against his very body as he stood there, built like a damn _mountain_.

A lot of the males in the room felt _very_ intimidated and inadequate at the same time. Some of the women began to swoon and drool over his impressive figure while others couldn't help but feel nervous for some reason.

His white sneakers squeaked a bit against the floor as he twisted his body a bit to subtlety glance at the blond girl. His chiseled face held a continuous bored and calm expression as his closed jaw moved and a small pink bubble inflated from his lips.

 ***pop***

The bubble popped after a second and he continued to chew. Then he spoke again, "Didn't you hear me? Go sit back down. You're boring and you're in the way…" His voice was a deep baritone and bit rough and yet it only added to his powerful form.

Kodama stood, flabbergasted, ' _Who the_ hell _does this guy thinks he is_?!' she glanced back at Takeru for a second before she calmed herself and sighed, "Hah, whatever. It's not like it was a big deal anyways." She turned around to leave the platform , but, not before speaking to the young man once more, "Just remember that you _owe_ me for this, first-year."

The darker blond only continued to face forward and away from her as she huffed and hopped back off the stage.

Many of the girls who knew Kodama couldn't believe what they saw. _No one_ in the school could make Himegami, of all people, _back down_.

This boy must really be _something else_ …

No one noticed the small bit of sweat dripping down from Kodama's forehead as she sat down in her chair. Internally, she tried to steel her nerves, ' _What is with that guy? I don't know exactly what it is about him; it's as if he has an air of extreme_ danger _around him._ ' Her eyes narrowed, ' _It seems I'll have to keep an eye on this guy, after I kill my enemy, of course_."

Minori had some trouble herself, "Um… okay! I guess you'll be our first volunteer for the duel! Can we get your name, please?"

 ***pop***

"Shogo Kitsukawa."

"Okay, Kitsukawa! Who do you choose to battle?"

Takehito couldn't help but be surprised himself when the boy looked upwards, took a hand out of his pocket, and pointed to the light fixtures hanging from the ceiling.

"I want to fight that guy."

Some students exclaimed in confusion as everyone were forced to look upwards when they heard chuckling echo throughout the room. A figure then dropped down on the other side of the center platform, the ground shook a bit as he landed in a crouch with their hands in their pockets.

"Well, damn…"

The now identified man stood up from his crouched state, letting the audience drink in his form.

"It seems I've been found out, huh?"

The young man stood tall, if not, taller than Kitsukawa by a couple inches. Even though he wasn't as muscle-bound as the blond, his physique clearly showed well toned muscle with just enough bulk to be intimidating, yet still looked lithe enough for swiftness. Definitely in between the middleweight and heavyweight class.

He wore a nearly skin-tight sleeveless, midnight black under armor shirt that reach up to cover his neck and was tucked in under equally black, baggy cargo pants. A pair of stark white straps hung from the silver buckle of his belt and looped around his thighs to connect back with the belt again in a small crisscross at the backside. His pants were kept untucked and fell a bit to the heels of his black, steel-tipped boots.

The skin of his arms and face was well tanned, almost bronze. Two pairs of black, arm band-like tattoos resided on his biceps and forearms while two sets of dark teeth-like tattoos were on each side of his handsome jawline, facing upwards. The top half of his face and head were covered by the black skullcap bandana that he wore, leaving only his nose and mouth visible. His ears were also left out from the bandana and spiky, ebony black hair flowed out from the back to reach the top of his back.

Many students' eyes widened and they couldn't help themselves as their gazes were suddenly drawn to the large, single edged hiltless sword that was somehow attached to his lower back.

Even Himegami was put a bit on edge by the strange blade. It seemed to give off a aura of malicious malevolence that only she and her Shikigami could pick up.

Speaking of, a small floating spirit with flaming hair and wearing a red gi popped into existence next to her, **"Be careful around** _ **that**_ **one Miss."**

"I know…"

Other students began to gossip amongst themselves again.

"Who the hell is this guy?! Was he _really_ hanging up on the ceiling this whole time?"

"He's like a real life ninja!"

"Oh wow~! He can sneak into _my_ room anytime~!"

"No. Just… no."

The dark haired man tilted his head a bit at the audience's reactions, chuckling with a grinning smirk on his face.

"Hehe! Different year; same gossip, am I right?"

 ***pop***

The blond boy only stared at him with that same calm, bored look.

"Not much for conversation, huh?" he shrugged, "Nevermind that. So, you choose to fight me, huh?"

The blond student remained silent, still. But that was alright with him; it was a rhetorical question anyways.

"Out of all of the students to pick in the room, you picked a guy who isn't even a part of the lineup. Tell me somethin'," the man brought his fingerless glove-clad left hand out of his pocket and raised it up as he settled himself into a stance, "You don't peg me as a guy who does things out of the benefit of others. So my question is: _what is your reason for coming to this school_?"

The blond boy took his hands out of his pockets while casually shrugging off his uniform jacket. He wore full, black leather gloves with golden mark insignias shaped like Roman numerals for 2.

The leather of his gloves squeaked at a low grating pitch as he tightly squeezed his fists, "You're a nosy one. I'll tell you…"

A lot of the students and the adults listened intently as well.

"Normal life never seemed to fit with me. My whole life has been one fight after another. I've fought so much, I don't know if there even is anything else more important to me anymore. My only purpose for coming to this school is because it gives me the chance to find something interesting and end my boredom."

"Hahaha! 'End your boredom'…" The older man's right hand remained hidden in his other pocket as his legs were spread with his knees slightly bent. His left side was facing the younger boy and his smirk widened as he addressed the oldest person in the room, "Hey Doc! You _might_ want to put up a barrier," his knuckles popped loudly as clenched his left hand, "Things are about to get a little _violent_."

Minori raised her arm in preparation to start. Though, she couldn't help feeling a sense of vague familiarity fill her mind as she looked at the black haired man. It was for a split second, but, she could have sworn that she'd seen a faint image of someone she once knew overlapping the man that was standing on the platform. The only differences in two was that the current one had his right hand still in his pocket and where a restrained smirk was placed on the images face; a full battle-hungry grin was _painted_ on the man's.

Some students were even a little unsettled by the savage expression; an expression that was only enhanced by the clear visibility of his _extremely_ sharp canines.

"This battle will only last four minutes!"

She threw her hand down, "Begin!"

There was an sudden burst of air as Shogo Kitsukawa was already upon his opponent with a fierce right haymaker. The older man swiftly dodged it by smoothly shifting a little to the left. Without breaking his stride, Shogo quickly launched his left leg out towards the man's face in a high kick. Just as his leg was about to make contact, it was halted in the – almost – bone crushing grip of the other man's left hand.

The force from stopping the kick didn't even move him back. Shogo noticed that his opponent was still only using his left hand, "Why haven't you taken out your right hand?"

"Because there's no _need_ for it."

"Mm…" Shogo grunted. This guy was starting to get on his nerves.

"By the way," the grip on his leg tightened even further, getting a low growl of pain from the younger boy, " _You might want to hold on to your teeth_."

Oh shit.

Shogo suddenly lost all of his balance as he found himself being spun around in the air like a human flail. The boy grit his teeth as his whole body tensed up in preparation for what would come next.

Many students winced when the blond was _slammed_ back into the platform with enough force to shake it. The sound from the body impacting the stage even rattled the windows a bit.

As the older man stood over the prone student, he couldn't help but take note of something as he tapped a foot against the floor.

"Huh. Looks like they refitted the floors with sturdier stuff."

Shogo remained motionless on his back for a few moments. The other man actually seemed a bit worried for a second, "Hey, kid. You're not down for the count already are ya-"

He stepped back when the formally downed blond kicked his feet up and with a seemingly inhuman amount of strength he flipped himself from the ground, into the air, and onto the shoulders of his opponent; all the while being upside down with his hands firmly gripping the older man's shoulders.

Everyone was in awe at the impressive show of balance. For a largely muscled build, he had quite a bit of speed and agility!

Shogo still had a calm look on his face as he swung himself down to strike the slightly surprised man with a devastating knee.

It was if time slowed down.

Just as the attack was about to connect again, the man leaned back with equally inhuman reflexes. He planted his left hand on the stage he lifted his legs in the air to kick the blond teen out of the air above him before flipping himself back onto his feet again, all in one smooth motion.

Shogo recovered quickly and sprinted back for another assault. He threw a barrage of fists and kicks at speeds that most of the inexperienced in the room had a hard time tracking. All of the attacks were either blocked, deflected, or dodged. And for every dodge, there was a vicious counter following it.

Shogo was relentless! Every time he was forced back or knocked down, he would bounce back as if pain wasn't even a _physical concept_ to him while his attacks would get more aggressive and unpredictable. Some people could swear that they saw the blond man's face become shadowed with the only visible features being beady, glowing red eyes and a manic grin.

"Fascinating." Minori found the ability to peel her eyes from the _intense_ fight when she heard Dr. Nijou suddenly speak up, "The boy has no clear form or techniques behind his strikes, he's just throwing punches and kicks just for the sake of landing _something_. He's only fighting with pure fighting instinct, and he's mixing it up every time he doesn't connect."

Minori decided to throw in her two cents in, "So he's only getting more unpredictable?"

"He's seems to be getting faster, too."

" _Really_?!"

Shogo's limbs became blurs as he progressively continued his assault on the older boy. The dark haired boy could be seen being visibly pushed back from the ravenous onslaught.

And yet… the excited grin on his face remained.

A blurred fist as quick as lightning shot passed his face, grazing young man's right cheek. Takehito was easily able to take note of this.

"Yes. You see it as well? The boy's speed and power keeps steadily increasing." He heard his aid grunt from blocking a particularly powerful punch, "It won't be long before…"

Minori's attention was brought back to the two combatants when she saw Shogo suddenly turn his back to his opponent. This took everyone by surprise.

No one was more taken back by the move than the mysterious man though, ' _What the hell?_ '

The blond suddenly leaned his entire body back towards him and his instincts _flared_. He raised his left arm to block a flying left leg from Shogo's _insane_ bicycle kick. There was a deafening _**crack**_ that rang out throughout the gymnasium as the foot connected with the forearm. Many students and Welcoming Committee members flinched at the noise.

The momentum of the kick forced the broken limb downwards, leaving the owner defenseless for the next attack.

Taking advantage of the opening Shogo continued his momentum by immediately launching himself into the air, spiraling his body along the way. The next attack came in the form of a _devastating_ spinning kick that tore it's way across the young man's left cheek that also managed to force him to skid on his feet backwards a little bit of ways away. He came to a stop just before his back touched the barrier.

His left arm hung limply at his side and his head was turned still turned to the right side from the previous strike. There was an angry red bruise on his cheek that began to bleed and drip on the platform. The grinning smirk on his face was no longer there.

Absolute silence filled the room as everyone stared in awe and anticipation. The intensity of the silence was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

Shogo Kitsukawa stood up straight and his appearance returned to a semblance of normalcy, although that savage, sadistic grin remained. Many bruises littered his muscular form and his clothes were heavily scuffed with small rips and tears in some areas while a thin line of blood flowing from his split lip.

And yet, he continued to grin without a care in the world.

He raised a hand to wipe the blood off his face as he addressed his seemingly stunned opponent, "Finally. A clean hit." He pointed at him, "What happened to all that speed you had? It seems to me that you're getting slower all of a sudden."

He clenched his hand back into a fist as he continued to speak, "No matter. I've gotten you all figured out and all I need to do is get _one more_ hit and you're finished!"

Silence was his response from the other combatant as he remained nearly motionless where he stood.

The tension from the silence was practically palpable.

Then, ever so slowly, he took his right hand out of his pocket for the first time since he appeared before them. His lips were slightly parted as his expression showed mild pondering when he took his right gloved hand and touched his heavily injured cheek. He then looked at his hand and seemed to inspect the blood on his fingers.

His lips closed in a thin, neutral line and he snorted a bit of air from his nose, "Hm."

His chest and shoulders shook as he began to chuckle lowly before it escalated to boisterous laughter. Everyone in the audience were perplexed by the sudden shift in disposition, it was quite unsettling. Just as suddenly as he started, he stopped. The wide grin on his face shrunk itself down to a small parted smirk.

"Now look what you've gone and did…" Some students gasped in surprise as they saw a flaring arc of red lightning flow around his powerful form for half a second.

"You've gotten me all worked up."

He continued to speak as he lifted his right hand to the bandana and pushed it up to just a little above his eyebrows. Most of the audience sat on edge of their seats as the got their first glimpse of the mysterious man's face.

"I guess I'm gonna have to take it up a notch, huh?"

Though his eyes were closed, only a select few in the room recognized the horn-like ends of his eyebrows.

Minori, Takeru, and Haruko froze while their eyes widened as they gazed upon the now identified figure, ' _Zane/Big Bro?!_ '

"Hey Doc?" The tan skinned young man turned his head towards where he knew the old man was, "How much time is left?"

Takehito answered back, "Two minutes and thirty seconds."

He chuckled a bit as he turned back to his opponent. His smirk dropped off his face and was instantly replaced by a cold, focused look that betrayed no emotion, " _I'll only need thirty seconds._ "

His eyes opened to finally reveal dull, _cold_ steel grey pupil-less pools before they flashed with glowing red light.

The bruise on his cheek began to _**hiss**_ and steam up. The steam itself began to obscure the left side of his face, making it so that the only thing that could be seen through the steam was a eerie red glowing light where his left eye should be.

It was a pretty intimidating sight to behold, for sure.

The young man raised his presumably broken left arm as small cracking noises could be heard. One final _**crunch**_ seized the other noises when he clenched the hand into a tight fist. More surges of red energy arched around his form and left arm.

He spoke once more, the very words seemed to _echo_ through everyone's hearts and souls, leaving them shaken.

" **First Tier Restriction Seal:** _ **Release**_ **."**

Many of the occupants in the gymnasium stared in wonder as the tattoos on his forearms glowed pure white before shattering into many particles that disappeared into thin air.

It was as if the gravity in the room increased. It was a subtle change; not enough to bring people to the floor, but the _power_ could clearly be felt as it permeated the very air. Some students felt a bit uncomfortable with the pressure weighing down on them .

"W-what is this, this _feeling_?" Azuki asked in confusion.

"What amazing power!" Garrett could help but to be awed by it.

"Oh man! It's touching me in all the right places!"

"I _swear_! I can't take you anywhere, can I?!"

The floor around the dark haired man's feet cracked and splintered a bit while more arcs of energy surged around his body at a higher frequency. The steam from his face seized to reveal to everyone else that the bruise that was once there was completely gone, fresh tan skin returning in an instant.

Takeru recognized the strange healing factor. He had seen it too many times in the past to be able to forget. He still couldn't fathom how… how his…

Haruko body remained stock still, frozen, completely _numb_ to the world around her. Her eyes were zeroed in on the ebony haired man the moment he revealed his eyes to everyone. The image of his cold, _hollow_ grey eyes remained in her mind. The warmth and _life_ that she remembered they once had was no longer there…

Was he _really_ the same person she knew so long ago?

Minori's heart began to beat at a faster rate as feelings and emotions she thought she had lost filled her heart and body. It took everything she had not to rush over to the man, punch him straight in the jaw, and then kiss him till they were both blue in the face. ' _I knew it… I knew you wouldn't die on me, Zane…_ '

Takehito glanced towards the female principal as he noticed the thin tear trail that ran down her cheek.

After a few moments, the arcs of crimson energy slowed down their frequency to short, smaller bursts and Zane started slowly walking towards Kitsukawa. The sounds of his footsteps echoed throughout the gym and his form would _buzz_ and _blur_ for a split second every few moments _._

It was as if he, himself, wasn't fully _there_.

Shogo grinned again as his face became shadowed again and he launched himself at his target, his right arm reared back for another attack. Just as he was a foot away, he threw his fist forward.

"Hope you buckled up, _kid_."

One moment, it seemed like Zane was going to be railed by Shogo's fist, and in the next, he just disappeared into thin air. It wasn't even a second later when the berserk blond felt the air behind him suddenly burst and a powerfully sharp elbow _nail_ him in the back of his skull. The blow instantly knocked him out of his transformation and into a daze. This also caused head and upper body to begin to fall forward.

The air behind burst again and he saw his opponent _blur_ into existence before him. More pain racked his body as a knee was driven into his gut with a booming _**slam**_. His breath was violently forced out his lungs and spittle – mixed with blood – sprayed out of his mouth.

Some students began to question if the fight should even continue. The brutality was getting to be a bit too much!

When Kitsukawa went to grab his aching gut when his body froze and he felt his upper body straighten back up, ' _Why can't I move?!_ ' None of his limbs responded to his commands. He could only move his eyes as he looked down towards he chest and saw an open hand with four of the main fingers pushing into the center of his chest, between the pecks.

It looked as though the owner of the offending hand was about to perform a one-inch punch.

Zane stood in front of the defenseless teen with his right hand aimed into the blond boy's chest. His body was facing to the side as his right flank was facing the frozen boy. The muscles in his arm were tense and rigid as small surges of electricity flowed along his arm and into the blond teen. Zane's expression still remained cold and focused, eyes now narrowed.

"You know… you're the first person I used this technique on. Normally, I wouldn't use this on a human, but," more energy pulsed from his eyes as one of his brows arched in mild interest, " _I'm sure you can take it_."

He then clenched his open hand into a fist as he shifted his body weight into the punch. No one expected the cracking sound of thunder that _shook_ the room itself and instantly shattering the barrier that was once erected around the platform. No one expected to see Shogo Kitsukawa get launched at speeds that were forceful enough to create visible sonic rings as he was sent into the far wall of the gymnasium. The impact cratered the wall and shattered the high windows above, causing the multiple sharp shards of broken glass to fall on the seated students.

"Shit."

" **Maken: Lock-!"**

Zane exhaled some steam before muttering a curse as he saw how the glass was falling on the section where Takeru was sitting. He and Haruko were about to move to protect the students until they both saw a girl with short, light brown hair leaped into the air above the panicking students.

" **Shatter!"** The girl's right arm was briefly consumed in a bright light before it faded to show that a red and golden clawed gauntlet had taken place on her arm.

" **Maken Knuckle: Kamudo!"**

With a impressive show of agility, speed, and accuracy, she swiped her clawed gauntlet through all of the falling shards of glass. After taking care of the threat to the students below, gravity finally kicked in and the girl began to fall.

* _Crash_ * "OOMPH!Aaahhh…"

Fortunately enough, Takeru was in the _perfect_ position to catch her.

Even if he wasn't prepared for it.

Zane sighed a bit in relief as he pulled his bandana back down over his eyes and that small smirk came back to his lips again, "You almost missed the welcoming ceremony, Inaho." He placed his hands into his pockets nonchalantly, "Did you oversleep or something?"

The girl who had landed on Takeru sat up as she was practically sitting on the half conscious male's stomach. She looked at Zane and pouted cutely while rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment, "Sorry, Zane nii-chan!"

The entire room froze. Whispers broke out among the awe stricken audience.

" _No way…_ Did she just say 'Zane' _?"_

"Isn't that the same name of the student that died saving the academy four years ago _?_ "

One bespectacled male student pushed his glasses up a bit, "Well, I'm pretty sure there isn't anyone else here with a first name like _that_. We are still in Japan, after all."

Another male student started to shake as he held his fists next to his face in excitement, "I don't know about you guys, but that fight was fuckin' _awesome_! It was like something straight out of an anime!"

 _ ***CLAP***_

The sudden _thunderous_ sound rang through everyone's ears and snapped them out of their own conversations.

Everyone looked towards the source of the interruption and saw the victor of the duel standing in the middle of the slightly damaged platform with his hands clasped together in a clapping motion.

After a few silent moments and gaining everyone's attention, he spoke, "Alright. I realized that I haven't really introduced myself to you. So let me just say this…"

He brought the index and middle fingers of his left hand to his head in a lazy, nonchalant mix of a wave and a two fingers salute.

"Hello! I'm going to be working at this academy as an Aid. Please don't think of me as a teacher or an instructor because I can still be challenged to duels if they're sanctioned. So to those that wish to know me," he raised his arms in a welcoming gesture, "It's great to meet ya! I hope we get along. Now to those who would want to _challenge_ me…"

He put a hand in his pocket while he used the other to pull the bandana up to show right eye. It suddenly opened as crimson energy surged out of it, menacingly. The smirk on his face stretched into a sharp grin.

"My name is Zane Oyama. Remember it so that you'll know the name of the _monster_ that beat you."

 _ **To be continued**_

…

 **AN: AH, MY GOD! That took** _ **wayyy longer than I hoped.**_

 **I swear when I was writing that fight scene, it was going a lot differently in my mind at the time. When I write, I usually tend to visualize it in my head like it's a anime. But I know I can't write it out like that because it would've appeared jumbled on paper.**

 **That was my** _ **first**_ **legit fight scene! Please tell me how you think of it. If you loved it, or you hated it. If you hated it, please tell me what I could've done differently.**

 **I think the fight scene took the longest to write because I wanted to get it** _ **just right.**_

 **And for those who want to ask me, yes, I will be putting characters from different shows into this story to hopefully help spice things up a bit. For those who don't know, Shogo Kitsukawa is from _K_** _ **enichi The Mightiest Disciple. Don't worry, you'll definitely be seeing more of him later on.**_

 **Next chapter we'll be getting into some deep emotional stuff, so I apologize in advance if it takes longer to come out. I've never written a truly deep and emotional scene before and I want to convey them just right. If anyone has any advice or ways for me to do that, please PM me or say it in the comments.**

 **I would deeply appreciate it.**

 **Until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

_**AN: I do not own anything but my OC and my idea**_ **f** _ **or the story**_ _._ _ **.**_

 **Chapter Seven: Broken Realities**

 _It was a warm pleasant afternoon at Tenbi Academy. The students of the unique institution filed out of their classrooms as the bell rang, signifying the start of the open lunch period. Some went off by themselves, most likely having already prepared a lunch the morning of, while others grouped together with their friends._

 _One particular group of girls walking through the hallways were busy chatting about the latest gossip of the school._

 _One brunette decided to start the conversation off, "So~, did any of you hear the latest rumor going around lately?"_

" _What rumor?"_

" _You know how Minori Rokujou and the rest of the members of Security Committee have been trying to recruit that one first year for weeks now? I think his name was Zane Oyama or something."_

 _The group came to stop at a set of lockers near the front doors so they could gather some of their things. Another male teen student was idly rifling through his locker off to the side, with his features blocked by the opened locker door._

 _The male mumbled to himself as he rummaged through his locker, "Hmm, wonder what's in my 'mystery' bento today…"_

 _The conversation between the girls continued, paying no heed to the young man, "Yeah! I heard that he's_ really _strong. He took on Rokujou in a head-on duel and won on his first day here!"_

" _A lot of other students are saying that he even took on a small group of second-years when they challenged him a couple days ago."_

 _One light auburn haired girl began to fret, "Oh my gosh! I hope everything turned out okay..."_

 _The brunette smiled, winking at her distraught friends, "It sure did. He completely wiped the floor with'em!"_

" _Wow, so amazing~…"_

 _The sole blond of the group spoke up, "I'm pretty sure I saw him walking down the hallway yesterday." She hugged herself under her large bosom, a heavy flush coming to her pale cheeks, "I swear when our eyes connected, I thought I was going to die under that intense gaze. Mmm~, he's so hot it_ burns _!"_

 _The young man at the side sneezed._

" _That's beside the point!" Though, the brunette had to admit that she thought the same as a blush rose on her face as well, "Rumor has it that Minori, Aki,_ and _Tomiko seem to have a thing for him. And the reason why they keep hounding him to join the Security Committee is so they could get 'closer' to him."_

" _Why would they want him?! Don't they already have Akaya in their group?"_

 _The blond girl made a face, "Yeah, but, Akaya's totally a womanizer, though."_

" _Well, everyone knows that."_

 _The random boy snorted quietly to himself, "Hmph. Doesn't stop women from wanting to sit on his face."_

 _His snide comment goes on unheard._

" _Doesn't anyone know if Oyama is even_ single _?"_

" _A guy that hot, can't be."_

 _The brunette developed a thoughtful expression, "No one's really sure…" she trailed off a bit as she thought of the mysterious teen, "People say that he's not known to actively talk to anyone; he usually keeps to himself. When some people do ask him about if he's still single, he says that he's trying to figure it out himself."_

" _Mmm~," the blond girl shuddered as she held her hands to her hot cheeks, "I certainly hope he's single. Lord only knows what's like to be in the embrace of those strong_ ,muscly _arms of his."_

" _Haaaaah…" They all sigh dreamily._

 _The conversation between the chatty young women was abruptly halted when they heard not-so-distant yelling and hurried footfalls echo through the hallway._

" _Stop right there, bastard!"_

" _Yes, please, I think we all have gotten_ tired _of your constant running!"_

 _The group of girls looked down the hall where the yelling originated from and saw two of the male members of the Security Committee chasing after another male student. The other students in the hall quickly moved out of the way of the three boys as they rushed passed them. Gen Tagayashi and Akaya Kodai, respectively, were hot on the heels of the runaway while sweat and exhaustion were prevalent on their faces._

 _The runaway student, on the other hand, didn't even look winded._

" _I don't think you know just how fast-" the boy grinned largely, "-I really am!"_

 _The other male back at the lockers suddenly slammed his closed, attracting the attention of the girls as he walked passed them and into the hallway, hands in his pockets. They froze and their eyes widened as they realized just who was right next to them the entire time._

 _Zane sighed in slight irritation, "Good grief…"_

" _I'm fast as fuck, BOOIIII!"_

 _Zane casually struck out an arm and closelined the running teen with enough force to rattle the lockers a bit. The young, unfortunate man was instantly knocked to the ground and rendered into an unconscious, twitching, groaning mass._

 _Zane remained standing over the teen with his hands in his pockets, an uninterested look on his face, "Oops."_

 _Akaya and Gen finally stopped in front of the taller male and the Makensmith hunched over with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. Akaya only seemed slightly less winded than his companion as he had his hands on his hips and took more controlled breaths._

" _Hah! Thanks once again for the assistance, Oyama-kun. But, contrary to what you just saw, the situation was completely under control." The smug smirk on his face was a bit shaky as he flamboyantly wiped the sweat from his brow._

 _Zane stared at him in silence for a several moments, before switching his sights to the other older teen who had yet to regain the ability breathe normally._

 _Poor guy._

 _Zane looked back at Akaya, "_ Riiight, _because this guy," he nudged said unconscious guy with his foot, "completely dusting_ _your asses was all a part of your 'master plan'."_

 _Shots fired._

 _Akaya brought a hand to his chest dramatically, "Such cutting words! You_ wound _me, Oyama-kun!"_

 _Akaya then turned his body towards the group of young women that were still standing over by the lockers. He used his other hand to flip the hair from his lightly sweating forehead, creating a sparkling effect around him. He smiled at them with his usual charm, "Good evening, ladies~!"_

" _Hello Kodai-san." They all replied back with perfect synchronization and blandness._

 _The third-year pretty boy comically collapsed to his hands and knees as a figurative rain cloud hung over him, "What kind of greeting is that?" His voice genuinely seemed to be filled with despaired bewilderment._

 _After finally straightening himself out and getting his breathe under control again, Gen walked over to his friend and fellow club member and patted his back, "Hehe! I guess you're losing your touch, Akaya." He joked lightly._

 _The makensmith straightened back up and walked over to the downed troublemaker to strap a strange little mechanical device around the teen's ankle. "That should do it." He placed his hands in his pockets as he turned to look at Zane with small smirk on his lips, "Sorry about that. What 'Loverboy' over here meant to say was: 'We're sorry to inconvenience you and we_ appreciate _the help'."_

 _Zane shook his head in his own amusement, a ghost of a smile on his face, "Whatever, don't mention it." He pulled his left hand out of his pants pocket showing Gen the small, black floral designed bento box in his hand, "While I have the chance though, could you tell Tomiko and Aki that I said thanks for the food again?"_

 _The upper classman began scratching his head, "Uh, sure."_

 _With his business done there, Zane began walking away. Though, he did take a glace at the awestruck group of young women. They all stared right back at him as his intense silver eyes locked them in place._

 _He tilted his head forward a bit in a slight bow, "Good evening, ladies." His light, baritone voice passed through their ears as he continued walking away again._

 _The group of women suddenly collapsed to the ground in a heap, startling Gen. Each of the fainted girls had flushed faces and Gen was not sure if he was seeing things, but, he could have sworn that he saw steam coming out of their ears._

" _Ahh… So cool~…" They all murmured faintly in a dreamy tone._

 _Gen could only stare on in a strange mix of amusement and irritation, "Lucky bastard." He began scratching his head some more, "I bet he doesn't even realize the kind of reactions he gets from the people around him."_

 _Akaya moaned a bit louder, wallowing in his own depression._

" _All right you big drama queen! Get up and help me get this guy to the nurse's office, would ya!"_

…

A lone figure stood in the garden courtyard of Tenbi Academy. The sun was beginning to dip over the horizon, just before welcoming the darkness of the night. The sky was painted with mellow orange and dark red colors.

Students had already left for their respective dorms after their welcoming ceremonies. Most of the academy staff had already left as well, leaving the grounds nearly vacant.

This solitary figure stood alone in the middle of the courtyard in front of the fountain, looking at a single large marble stone tablet that stood taller than they did. Inscribed on the surface was a name: Zane Oyama.

 _In loving memory of Zane Oyama, Hero of Tenbi._

There was more inscribed after this sentence. The tablet continued to speak of how Zane Oyama showed such courage and strength throughout his attendance at the academy and how he showed his selfless heroism when he chose to sacrifice himself to save everyone else at Tenbi. He would always be remembered in everyone's hearts.

The figure's expression betrayed no emotion as they looked upon the memorial slab. Their fists clenched within the confines of their pockets.

 _In loving memory, huh?_

They couldn't blame them for thinking that. It was completely understandable why this was here.

But…

 _Never again._

The figure placed a hand on the smooth surface of the marble slab, slowly running their palm over the inscriptions and small imperfections.

Just another reminder of their past weaknesses and _broken promises_.

 _I'm not as weak as I was back then. This time…_

The fingers on the hand that were on the face of the memorial slab began digging further into the rock. Cracks began to grow from where the five fingers were pressed in, slowly expanding across the entire surface.

 _This time… I'm here to stay._

Muscles twitched and the sound of crumbling stone could be heard through the courtyard, echoing off the walls.

That is, if anyone else was there to hear it.

…

"You can't be serious!"

Four adults stood in the principal's office of Tenbi Academy. Warm, mellow light from the setting sun filtered through the large windows behind the large desk. One of the occupants, a woman with red hair tied by a ribbon, leaned against the edge of the oak surface. No longer was she wearing the professional suit and skirt that she had no choice but to wear during the welcoming ceremonies. Now she was donned in a orange and white tracksuit that was zipped down to just below the curve of her breasts. Instead of shoes, she wore slippers.

Minori Rokujou couldn't help the anxiety bubbling in her stomach as she gripped the edge of the desk that now belonged to her as the new principal of the school. She looked up towards the other three people in the room in front of her.

They were her oldest friends and closest comrades. Gen Tagayashi, Aki Nijou, and Tomiko Amado all stood by the couches and the coffee table in the middle of the room as they stared at her with varying degrees of disbelief.

Four years may have passed since that fateful day, yet, it seemed that the four friends haven't aged at all, aside of their maturity. Though, Gen did now sport a couple of scars on the right of his cheek, down towards his jaw. Along with the small stubble on his chin, he now tended to wear a headband to keep his trimmed light brown hair out of his eyes.

Tomiko had grown her hair out so that it reached her waist with a purple hair band to keep it flowing backwards smoothly. The white short sleeved sweater and pink flowing skirt she wore did nothing to hide the mature, curvaceous body that she sported. Normally, her eyes would be closed in her usual ever-pleasant expression, but now, her eyes were wider than ever before.

Aki no longer kept her cerulean hair in twin pig tails, instead letting it flow down her back until it reach her rear. There were times where Minori became a bit irritated at how beautiful she had become even more over time. Instead of dressing more modestly, like Tomiko, she decided to wear a pink strapless top that was loosened enough to show a _generous_ amount of cleavage. The mini brown skirt she wore did very little to cover her thighs. Like her father, Aki decided to work in the medical field while also still being able to be at Tenbi with her friends. So, in the end she became the academy's nurse.

Though, the lab coat she currently wore still did next to nothing to keep many men and some women from fantasizing about her.

Minori looked up towards the sole male in the room as his small outburst brought her out of her previous thoughts, "What makes you think that I'm not serious, Gen?"

"U-uh…" the makensmith hesitated in his reply for a moment, "Look. I know we've seen some crazy shit back then, but, we all _know_ what we saw that day."

Tomiko closed her eyes again as she added to that statement, "Not only is it unthinkable, it's completely impossible. That… portal four years ago was closed the moment Zane fell in."

"Well, that just means that-"

Gen cut her off before she could speculate more, "For all we know, that could've been a one way trip! And even if – and that's a very _big_ if – he was somehow able to find a way back; why now?" He swung his arms wide as if to question the very world they lived in, "Why did it take him _four years_ to find a way back, huh?!" Anger and frustration filled his voice as this conversation began to dig deep into old wounds.

Aki looked at the male in concern as Tomiko spoke her piece in the same calm, neutral tone, "There hasn't been any recorded Maken users within the past few centuries that showed any capabilities similar to what we saw that day."

"I _know_ the limitations of my the Maken that I build, and I know for damn sure that none of them could open holes in time and space. I may be good, but I'm not _that_ good." Gen was normally a prideful person, especially when it came to his inventions.

But that didn't stop him from being a realist, though.

"And you said that this guy had a _sword_ with him?!" he questioned further, "Where did it come from? The Zane _we_ know didn't use weapons, he said it himself that he _despised_ them."

Minori finally seemed to reach her boiling point as she slammed a hand onto her desk, screaming at Gen, "I KNOW WHAT I SAW!" The room shook at the volume of her voice, "I saw him fight that first year student today and I can say with certainty that his movements were _exactly_ the same when we use to fight four years ago."

She remembered how her heart raced when she watched that fight. Back then, when Zane and her would always fight each other almost every day whenever she want to 'persuade' him to join Security Committee. No one else could get her heart racing like he did.

There wasn't any other man that could beat her in a fight; she also found herself getting bored during her fights with other women as well. But when Zane came into their lives, she quickly found herself getting completely outmatched and overpowered.

Instead of getting sore over it, though, she began admiring it. She was always known as the strongest back during her days in the academy and then he suddenly just 'shows up' and dominates her. _Repeatedly_. It wasn't until four years ago, a month before the incident, that he said something to her that changed that admiration into something… _more_ …

…

 _Minori laid in the grass, left arm cradling her bruised stomach while she groaned from the pain. Her body was riddled with small scratches and bruises, along with dirt smudges on her skin and uniform. Her uniform was – once again – damaged beyond repair; only leaving enough left to cover her modesty to a certain degree._

 _She had lost. Again._

" _Damn it…" her right hand clenched into a tight fist, fingers digging into the dirt along the way. Tears of utter frustration came to the verge of spilling from her eyes._

 _It was hopeless! For months she had been challenging Zane to duels to get him to join Maken Ki and yet every time, no matter how much training she did before hand, he would_ always _wipe the floor with her whenever he got just a little serious. And yet, she could tell that deep, deep down… he was STILL_ _holding back._

' _At this rate… he'll just get bored and think that I'm just wasting his time! Damn it!"_

 _She glanced over her shoulder when she heard the sound of grass being crinkling as the footfalls of her rival came closer._

 _She turn back away from the young man when he crouched to her downed form._

" _Damn." She heard Zane curse under his breath, "It seems that I may have overdone it a bit, again. Sorry about that, Ri-Ri."_

 _She still refused to look at him and remained in her own silence._

 _After a few moments she heard the grass rustle and briefly spotted his spiky hair peak into the corner of her vision. She immediately turned her face further away and almost into the dirt all in a effort to hide her anguished tears._

" _Haaa…" She heard the young man sigh to himself before he spoke again, "Can you stand on your own?"_

 _Minori thought about that question for a few moments while persisting to face away from him. Her whole body felt like one big bruise. She tried to twitch one of her toes only to flinch and muffle a groan as pain shot through her legs once more. She shook her head, no._

" _All right, I guess I have no other choice then."_

 _She almost didn't catch his mumbled words, 'Huh?'_

 _She squealed in sudden surprise when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her upper back and under her knees. When she found herself lifted off the ground she finally turned her head to look up at him with her mouth agape._

 _Zane looked right back at her with his usual calm and focused gaze. The sunlight reflected off from his grey eyes, making them shine with a dim silver light. He exhaled through his nose a bit as a small smile formed on his lips._

" _You know something, Ri-Ri?" Zane began walking with her in his arms, "I don't really get you."_

 _She closed her mouth as she became confused at his sudden statement. What did he mean by that?_

" _Most people I beat would usually give up, cuss me out, and never come back to fight me again, but, you're not like most people, are you?" His smile flattened back into a thin line of neutrality as he turned his gaze forward, "No matter how many times you get beat, you always get back up, just as determined as before."_

 _Minori couldn't help the minor flushed heat spreading across her cheeks as he continued to speak of her with such… adoration? A stray thought lingered in her clouded mind, 'O-oh… oh god! Is this a confession?!'_

" _What did you call it once?... Oh! Your fighting spirit, right?" He looked back down at her for a split second and a small good-natured smirk formed on his lips._

" _I think it's what I admire about you the most."_

 _ **Bu-Bum Bu-Bum Bu-Bum**_

 _By this time, Minori had already brought both of her hands to cover her overheating face. 'Does he even know what he's doing when he says those things?!'_

 _He chucked a bit as he continued to look forward toward the path through the academy grounds, "This is kinda like those situations where a unstoppable force meets an immovable object, isn't it? But, who knows," he returned his focused intense gaze to her, staring deep into her eyes, her soul, "maybe you'll be able to move me. One day."_

…

"HEY! EARTH TO MINORI!"

Minori was startled out of her short flashback by the sudden shout. When she realized that she had been day dreaming she brought a hand over her sternum to steady the rapid beating of her heart. She then sighed as she looked at the man that interrupted her pleasant memories, "What?"

Gen stood back from her and dropped his hand that had been waving in front of the distracted woman's face, "I was saying before you decided to tune out that you are the only one out of the four of us that continued to believe that Zane was still alive."

"You have to let it go, Minori. Hanging on to that delusion will only make you more depressed." Tomiko remember the times when she and Aki had to comfort their close friend after one of her drinking binges.

Minori scowled and she turned her eyes to the last occupant in the room that had yet to speak, "What about you, Aki?" said woman jumped a little as the attention was suddenly brought to her, "You've been quiet for a while. What do you think of this?"

Aki looked down and folded her arms under her bosom in a nervous gesture. She didn't respond immediately and began to fidget a bit under everyone's gaze. She bit the edge of her lip as a thought came to her, "I really don't know what to think. I truly wanted to believe that he was still alive this whole time, but," she paused, "there was still a part of me that had a lot of doubt."

Minori, Tomiko, and Gen couldn't help but to sympathize with her. Zane had been with them through most of that school year. Within those few short months he had fought with them, bonded with them, he even bled with them. Zane place everyone else before himself when he chose so sacrifice himself to save everyone.

He was always like that; placing others before himself _by_ placing himself before others as a way to protect them. Someone with that kind of strength could not be easily beaten or forgotten.

Aki continued as she remembered something, "My dad seems to be close to Zane-"

"That wasn't him." Gen interjected but was ignored.

"-maybe he knows what's really going on."

Just as Aki finished that sentence, a couple knocks could be heard on the main door of Minori's office.

Everyone turned to look at the door and Minori walked past them to greet whoever it was on the other side. She grabbed the knob, twisting it as she pulled the door open a bit.

She released a long breath before speaking, "It's about time you got here, old man!"

"What is with younger people today and feeling the _incessant_ need to call me that? I'm not _that_ old, yet."

The taller figure walked passed Minori when she opened the door wider and stood out of the way before she then closed it again. The three other occupants stood surprised at the distinguished figure now standing before them.

"Daddy?!"

Dr. Takehito Nijou turned slightly towards his daughter before offering a small smile and wave, "Hello Aki," he turned back towards the rest of the group, "Sorry for being a tad late. It took a bit longer to treat Kitsukawa-san than I was hoping." He shrugged haplessly, shaking his head a bit, "But I honestly should have expected this, my assistant does tent to go overboard from time to time."

Gen got over his initial surprise and decided to ask, "What are you doing here, though?"

The smile on older man's face dropped and tension filled the room.

After a few moments, Takehito spoke once again, "Other than the fact that Minori called me here beforehand, I came here to answer your questions on a certain someone's sudden… resurgence."

"Also, none of the things said here should ever leave this room. Are we clear?"

…

Haruko's mind was still in a haze as she walked along the concrete path that led to one of the dorms closer towards the town. Her initial intention was to go see if Takeru was fitting into his dorm room well, but, ever since what happened earlier today she wanted to also go make sure that Takeru was okay with it as well.

She wasn't even sure if _she_ was completely fine herself…

…

" _My name is Zane Oyama. Remember it so you'll know the name of the monster that beat you."_

 _Everyone in the audience and near the podium could only stare in silent awe at the near invisible_ _ **power**_ _behind his words. It even seemed to radiate off his very form. The only exceptions were Takehito and Inaho since they weren't awestruck like the rest of the crowd._

 _The tense atmosphere was abruptly ended when Zane closed his only visible eye and pulled the bandana over the top half of his face fully._

 _He turned his head, as if to look over his shoulder, towards the renowned doctor and mentor, "Hey, old man!" The smirk on his face grew when he saw how the older man held his face in his hand._

 _Takehito peaked up at his assistant with one eye as if he sensed his hidden gaze. His eye then narrowed into a slight glare at the younger man, "God-"_

" _I'llleavetheresttoya, later!" Zane's form suddenly blurred from existence._

" _-damnit." The older man couldn't help but rub his forehead in mild frustration._

 _The crowd of students began speaking amongst themselves with fervor._

" _Holy crap, dude! Did you see that?!" one male called out in astonishment as he shook another male student by the shoulders._

" _Yeah, I know man! I saw it too! Now would you please STOP SHAKING ME!"_

 _A few girls swooned, "Who would've thought the Hero of Tenbi was so handsome and cool~…"_

" _So hardcore~!"_

" _Uhh, guys?!" Some male and female students turned to look over at where a couple of other male students were standing by the wall that Shogo Kitsukawa was still embedded in. "We could use a little help here, please!"_

 _A large hulking figure walked past the young man, his form easily towering over the shorter teen. The other boy closer to the wall couldn't help but gulp at the intense gaze of the larger teen from the shadow of his visor._

" _Step aside please, I've got it from here."_

 _The shorter boy did as he was told and stepped away as the giant moved in front of the unconscious Shogo. Kai Kurigasa tipped his visor over his dark eyes and sighed in resignation, "Haaaah. Now you've really gone in over your head, huh, aniki…"_

" _Amaya-san!"_

 _Haruko was pulled out of her fogged mind by the shout from the President of the Student Council Security Division, Furan Takaki. She blinked and yelped in fright, "Y-Yes?!"_

 _Furan had her arms folded under breasts in a dignified manner as she regarded Haruko with a scrutinizing stare, "As Vice President of the Leadership Committee, you're expected to uphold the peace and order of this academy and set an example for the rest of the student body." She adjusted her glasses with a finger, light briefly reflecting off them, "Am I wrong?"_

" _No ma'am."_

" _Alright then. Since you know what your position entails, you wouldn't mind getting your head out of the clouds and assist me in reorganizing everything,_ right _?"_

" _O-Oh! Sorry, I'll get right on it!"_

 _Just as she took a single step forward, a swift breeze and the brief feeling of fingers grazed the back of her collar and neck. Her instincts flared with alarm and she reached for the spot to catch the offending hand… only to be left with nothing but a slip of a folded paper._

' _What in the world?!' She blinked as she took the slip into her grasp and brought it into her vision. She quickly took note of words written on it._

 _We will talk soon_.

…

Haruko placed a hand over her heart as she tried to calm its rapid beating. Just the mere thought of talking to Zane brought on waves of anxiety. It'd been nearly _four years_ since she last talked to him; everyone had thought he'd been dead this whole time!

What questions would she even ask him? How was he alive? What happened to cause him to disappear for so long and how did he come back?

 _Why_ … a brief flash of memory of hollow, dull grey pools passed through her mind. _Why did his eyes look so cold and lifeless_?

Once upon a time, those very same eyes were brimming with life and warmth. Where did it all go? She was so confused!

She placed a hand on her forehead, "What am I going to do?" She whispered lowly to herself.

"Um, Miss?"

Once again taken out of her thoughts, her attention was pulled to a shorter, more modest woman that was sweeping leaves off the path by the gates for the dorms, "O-Oh sorry, yes?" She really needed to pull herself together, she had been getting distracted a lot lately.

"Is everything alright?" The modest lady looked at her in concern, "You had a pretty distraught look on your face just a moment ago."

"Oh!" Haruko felt so embarrassed. How could she have been so obvious?! "It's nothing really! I just have a lot of things on my mind is all." _It wasn't like it's any of your business to begin with, Ms. Nosy._

"A young girl like you shouldn't have to worry so much. All that worry will only bring stress and stress brings unnecessary wrinkles."

"I appreciate your concern, ma'am, but I must get going now. See ya!" With that, Haruko briskly walked up the stairs.

As she stopped at the door to what she was told was Takeru's dorm room, she took a few moments to breathe and compose her fluttering thoughts, "Haaah." _Here goes…_

She knocked of the wooden surface twice.

Haruko could then hear a masculine call of "Coming!" from behind the door before the door was opened to reveal Takeru.

Both of his eyebrows rose high when he saw his childhood friend standing in front of his door, "Oh! Hey Haruko. What brings you here?"

"We need to talk, Takeru." Her tone was solemn and resigned while her expression was serious.

"Alright, give me just one minute-"

"No! I'm coming in right now." Her patience snapped a bit as she walked passed him into the dorm.

Takeru moved out of the way of her path, he remembered how pushy she got when she lost her patience, "Okay! Okay. Suit yourself."

He closed the door behind them and the outside air was once again filled with reigning silence.

…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Well… that was until a loud feminine yell pierced the air of the dorm complex, shattering the peaceful atmosphere.

…

"Aaaagh..." Zane stretched his arms wide as he walked by one of the large forest parks in Tenbi that had a small lake next to it. The crisp night air provided a steady yet slow breeze.

It felt so _very_ gratifying.

"The cool air feels really good right now," he spoke out loud to no one in particular, "My blood's still simmering a bit from that fight earlier today."

The moon's image reflected off the surface of the water like a mirror, not even a single ripple could disturb it's majesty. Zane took note of this and halted his gait to lean on the railing to look over the water. The serenity of it all was just to good to pass up.

He tilted his head to his left, as if he was listening to something being spoken. No one could guess what he was possibly listening for, there wasn't anyone else around him. He chuckled a bit to an unspoken response.

"I truly missed being able to do stuff like this, ya know. Enjoying the moment, I mean." He kept his gaze forward over the moon-lit lake as he leaned on the guard rail, "It helped me think whenever I was confused about something back then. Give it some time, you'll find yourself enjoying it soon enough."

He was also glad that no one else was here right now, otherwise, people would start to think that he was crazy or something. _They wouldn't be completely wrong, though._

Gods! It felt so good to be back home.

He breathed deep through his nose. Then exhaled.

"I smell," his smile twisted into a minute smirk, "cherry blossom perfume."

He turned around just as a shadowed figure lunged at him from the tree line. The figure swung at his neck with a short katana, the light of the moon reflected off the blade as is it flashed through the air.

The edge of the blade came to a sudden halt just mere inches from Zane's throat as he held the blade in his left hand's firm grasp. The figure gasped softly.

The soft voice of a woman…

His lips twitched for a split second before it fell back into a calm smile. _Gotta calm it down, can't afford to get too excited right now._ "Well, aren't you rude for trying to spy on me while I'm trying to have some privacy. Whatever happened to safe space?"

The blade cracked in his fierce grip before he fully clinched his fist, shattering the sword into shards of useless metal. The unidentified female assailant immediately tried to leap back but quickly found her movement seized as she felt the strong arm of the man wrap behind her waist.

Zane brought her into his chest, her generously large bosom squishing into his broad and sturdy chest. The obscured woman placed her hands on his chest to keep from getting completely smothered and was forced to look up to her captor when he took her chin in his other hand; his grip firm, yet gentle.

"I can tell that you're using your maken to hide your identity from me. Unfortunately for you though," he felt slight resistance as he tilted her head to the right a bit, exposing the smooth skin of her neck. He then brought his face down to her neck, the warmth of his breath a stark contrast to the chill of the night air. He could practically feel her heart beat quickening.

"That won't work on something that doesn't need their eyes to see, Tomiko. It's a shame, though," his voice had a rasp undertone that tingled against her flesh, "I would have _loved_ to see you in this sexy ninja outfit."

He placed his lips on the vein in her neck and the woman felt her own body lock up against her own will. "N-no wait-"

" _ **Pulse**_."

 _ **Bu-Bum!**_

" _Hynn~!_ "

A sudden wave of raw power and heat forced it's way throughout her body, starting from the spot on her neck that he was kissing. It travelled in all directions; from the surface of her skin, all along the fibers of her muscles, bouncing off and rattling each bone. It even traveled through and around her brain, causing her mind to loop around in a pleasure induced delirium.

It felt as if she was body of water that had been disturbed by a single large ripple that rebounded from the tips of her fingers and toes back to where his lips were connected to her neck.

 _I-it's too... much!_ " _NNGHAAAAAAHHH~_!" She threw her head back, cheeks flushed neon red, as a powerful moan forced itself out from her very core. Her eyes rolled upwards as her mouth fell open in ecstasy.

The ground shook and a small portion of the sidewalk next to the two suddenly cracked. Tomiko was in too much of a daze to notice but Zane was still quite coherent enough to hear it. He whipped his head to look at where the small crater had appeared.

The area around the crater still seemed empty to a normal outside observer, but Zane could sense the blatant killing intent fill the air in the form of faint dark miasma.

He sweat dropped. _Great! Now she's mad…_

"Let go of her you son-of-a-bitch!"

"Oh?- _Pwuuh!_ " Zane was staggered back by a powerful haymaker to his face from a silver gauntlet-clad fist. Gen Tagayashi then caught Tomiko before she could hit the ground.

Zane was knocked back with enough force to dent the railing behind him. He gripped it with his right hand as he leaned on it and rubbed his smoking reddened cheek with gritted teeth, " _Aaagh_!-WHAT THE FUCK, GEN?! Christ, that _actually_ stings!"

Gen stayed silent as he glared at the slightly peeved man. He lifted his left gauntleted arm, examining it in its entirety. Nothing looked inheritably wrong with it, it was a beautiful, yet, simplistic piece of armor; polished silver with small jade gems on each knuckle with a larger one on the back of the hand.

Light began to build in the large gem, so much light in fact that it started to become blinding. Gen was forced to close his eyes from the intensity of the light. Zane remained by the railing with a small frown, but, stayed silent while this was occurring. Cracks began to form on the surface of the metal and arcs of red trailed around the gems.

Gen flinched as the gauntlet exploded off his arm in a shower of shards of metal and light. His eyes widened, a few beads of sweat dripped from his brow, "Well, I'll be damned…"

"Are you satisfied now?"

"Huh?"

Gen's eyes turned towards Zane as the man was now casually leaning against the dented railing. Both of his hands gripped the rail, the damage to his cheek nowhere to be seen. Zane smirked at his old friend's mildly confused expression.

"I kinda figured that Takehito would have told you guys what had happened to me and how I got back." Zane chuckled to himself a bit, "Knowing how hard-headed you tended to be, I fully expected you to come to me directly to get confirm things for yourself."

Gen scoffed, "Che! Know me that well, do ya?"

"Yup!" Zane raised the index finger of his left hand, "That maken you used just now proves it. Don't you remember? Out of everyone in school, you were the only one to figure out the secret to my strength."

He then pointed at Gen, "You built that thing from scratch and punched me with it four years ago."

Yeah, Gen remembered. He couldn't forget something like that. After weeks of observing Zane and a little prying into his medical records that he had swiped from Takehito. It wasn't easy, though. The man kept his secrets more guarded than buried titanium vault.

With the information he had gathered, Gen came up with the theory that the source of Zane's strength came from the Element he circulated through his body. Gen then created the gauntlet to absorb concentrated Element on contact and empower the user. After testing it on Minori a couple times he challenged Zane a duel; once he landed a single punch, the thing sparked with red light and exploded.

Gen couldn't remember much afterwards, but after waking up in the nurses office, Takehito told him that Zane had beat him into the ground with enough force to shake a small portion of the campus. He had to be directly treated by the doctor himself. No one had ever seen the powerful teen so angry.

It was terrifying.

Zane had also been absent for the rest of that day and the next day. No one had known where the boy had been. It wasn't till a couple days after that he came back to class and continued his usual routine after apologizing to Gen and asking if they could be friends afterwards.

 _I used that old thing again_ hoping _to get the same result_ , Gen chuckled to himself, a worn smile formed on his lips, _Looks like even I can still be naive._

"Yeah, I also vaguely recall how you apparently almost beat me into bloody paste." Gen shifted his grip on the still comatose Tomiko as he placed her on the ground gently and stood up, "You still hadn't told us why you had disappeared after."

An awkward silence permeated the night air. Zane then responded, his expression solemn.

"Sorry about that, Gen. I…" he trailed off a bit before resuming, "I had some, uh… _personal_ things that I had to deal with before I faced everyone again. Don't dig into it too much, okay?"

"All right, man. I understand."

Zane tightened his left hand into a fist, "I shouldn't have lost control like that…" His knuckles popped as his fist tightened further. _I could've easily killed you back then._

The metal of the railing began to groan faintly in his right fist. He could feel his power rising against his will as whispers tickled his ears, invading his mind.

 _Kill... Destroy..._ _ **Dominate**_ _._

Veins popped up under the skin of his arm and fist as tried to reign in his chaotic energy.

 _Have to… cut this conversation short…_

"By the way," Zane's attention was brought back to his old friend, his physical and mental turmoil going unnoticed, "You wouldn't mind undoing whatever it is you did to Tomiko, would ya? She's completely limp and carrying her home would be a serious pain."

"Can't help ya there, bud." Zane placed his other hand on the railing as he leaned back again before shrugging, "The reason she's like that is because her body had grown unaccustomed to my pulse."

Gen raised a brow, "You're _pulse_?"

Zane smirked a bit, "It's a technique I came up with a while back to help with physical therapy. By channeling power through my body and a _small_ dose into another person, I can use my heartbeat to send a gentle pulse through their entire body to ease the tension of the bones and muscles. Although…" he turned his head to the drooling, unconscious woman that had been reduced to a blissful limp mess.

"I don't get why she turns out like this, though." He scratched the side of his head in genuine ignorance, "She use to ask of it from me a few times back then. She wasn't so loud during those times…"

 _Such a weak and insignificant human. He_ _ **dares**_ _to strike_ _ **us**_ _?! END HIM! Wrap your hand around his neck and_ _ **squeeze**_ _. It would be oh so easy…_

Zane grunted lowly as his heart pounded painfully in his chest, but he held his composer and endured.

 _Aah, then we can continue where we left off with that_ _ **woman**_ _… Such supple flesh… She couldn't resist_ _ **us**_ _!_

Veins bulged on his temple as his body heat rose. His breath became ragged, small plumes of steam puffed from his slightly parted lips. A fog encroached upon his mind, his moral thoughts and restraints fading.

"Hey, Zane! Are you okay there, man?" Gen asked in concern. He could obviously tell that something was wrong with his friend. _Did I actually_ _injure him somehow?_

Gen took a step towards him.

Murderous rage burst forth from the fog clouding Zane's mind.

 _ **TEAR HIM TO SHREDS!**_

 _Stay back!_ Zane yelled out to Gen in his mind. He gritted his teeth, growling.

Suddenly, as if by some divine intervention, the section of the railing Zane had been leaning on groaned loudly as the top bar broke off. As Zane had been leaning on it for leisure support and his rational mind being clouded, he wasn't prepared when his weight carried him backwards.

"Zane!"

"AH!"

There was a loud _**splash**_ as Zane fell into the lake.

Gen jogged over to the edge when he saw him floating on the surface of the water facing towards the night sky. Zane's visible expression was completely blank as he floated there. Both men let a, somewhat awkward, silence pass between them for several moments…

…

…That was until Zane began spewing water from his mouth like a fountain. It was actually quite comical.

"Pffff-haahahaha!" Gen broke out in hysterical laughter, hunching over to hold his gut, "Oh my god! That has to be," he inhaled a gasped breath, "the funniest thing that could've happened just now! So anti-climactic! Haha!"

After spitting the rest of the water out of his mouth and standing up, he blew some hot air out of his nose like a peeved bull. He folded his arms while frowning at his old friend, "Yeah, well joke's on you! I had already planned on taking a dip in the lake!"

"No you didn't! And you might as well just stop right there too; we _both_ know that you can't talk smack when you get flustered."

Zane scoffed, "Shut up! Shouldn't you be taking Tomiko to Aki or something? She's been knocked out for so long now that I'm actually getting worried."

Gen waved him off halfheartedly as he turned back towards where he laid the female teacher, "Yeah, yeah! I got it!" As he heaved her on his back, making sure to keep proper grip of her legs, he called back out to soaked man, "And Zane?"

"Hmm?"

"It's great to have you back."

"…"

Zane remained silent before Gen continued on his way with Tomiko resting on his back. He waited until they were out of earshot before sighing. He raised his right hand to rub the back of his neck as an familiar ache lingered for a second there.

 _Is it really a good thing that I'm back, though?..._

With little effort, he leaped out of the lake and back onto the sidewalk. The water on he skin and clothing began to hiss and sizzle it evaporated off his body at an increasing rate. He stuffed his hands in his pockets as his lips tilted down in a slight scowl, "Tohru."

Just as he called out that name, a beautiful and busty blond woman with long twin pigtails in a stereotypical maid outfit suddenly seemed to pop into existence next to him. Her fiery draconic eyes gazing at him in fretting concern.

"Are you all right, Mr. Zane?"

A crimson bolt of energy arched around his form for a split second as multiple veins in his neck bulged, "Take us… home."

Without hesitation she hurriedly created a portal under the both of them, "Of course, right away!"

Just as the two dropped in and the portal closed behind them, another figure that had been casually sitting at a bench a few yards away whistled lowly to himself; his features mostly obscured by the darkness of the night.

"Well, well… this is certainly different." The anonymous man smirked amusingly.

"Hmm… Let's see where this path leads."

…

As soon as Zane and Tohru landed in the living room of his apartment, the young man collapsed into the waiting arms and large bosom of another woman that wore a black tank-top with mini-jean pants and black stockings.

A lock of her vibrant light green hair tickled hos nose as he tried to look back up to the smiling, ethereal woman. His teeth began to sharpen and pierce his own gums as he grit them in restraint. He struggled with his next words, the little sliver of rational sanity slipping from his mind once more, "Lu… coa-" She cut him of softly by pacing a delicate finger on his lips.

"Shhh. You did well to hold on this long, Z-Baby. Don't say anything more. Just let Tohru and I help you _ease your burdens._ " Tohru came up next to them, a hot blush on her cheeks while she held one of his hands to her breast.

Lucoa placed a hand on his right cheek and gently pulled the bandana from his head.

Zane's eye's were wide, once grey pools now flaring sinister red. Sharp demonic crisscross pupils expanded and contracted at random intervals and his breath became ragged and raspy, steam puffing out of his mouth with each exhale.

Lucoa opened her left eye, forcing him to stare back into a golden pupil surround by a pool of amethyst.

" _ **Sleep now, my love~."**_ His vision began to blur and fade as a soft voice filled his mind, the echo of it drowning out everything else, _**"Tonight we'll sate that insatiable hunger."**_

His vision faded to black and he was conscious no more.

…

 _ **AN: Curse my incessant need to procrastinate! I'm sorry that it took me months to get this chapter out. I'm still a relatively new writer and I need to learn to dedicate time to this better.**_

 _ **I would like to say that I enjoy the positive reviews that you guys are posting. It shows that I'm doing okay so far, but, don't be afraid to point something out if you feel that it might hurt the story, okay?**_

 _ **I would also like to thank my friend Soleneus for suffering with the beta'ing of the story so far. Not All of them have been beta'ed yet. So there are still some chapters that still might need tweaking.**_

 _ **For those who don't know, yes, I did borrow a few more characters from another anime. Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid. For those who are fans of the show, I will try my best to do those characters justice. Let me know if you feel that I'm doing something wrong, but, also keep in mind that they might act differently because of the different circumstances that they have to deal with.**_

 _ **For those who play Xbox One, me and Soleneus play on it as well. So if you want to chill with us and hear me bitch and rage hilariously on Destiny 2, I go by AustinYeeeed.**_

 _ **Until next time!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**AN: I do not own anything but my OC and my idea for the story.**_

 **Chapter Eight: A Mere Glimpse into Madness**

 _A multitude of incensed voices screamed and roared around him as he opened his eyes, greystone tiles floor filling his vision. The sheer volume of the combining sounds bounced directly off his eardrums almost painfully. He tried to reach up to cover his ears but was immediately stopped as he found shackles on his arms. The were large enough to cover most of his forearms to his wrists and were at least several centimeters thick. He also idly noted that they seemed to be fused together, thus keeping his arms uncomfortably close together in front of him. The same shackles around each of his ankles and were connected by a short chain._

 _He also found his attire severely lacking; smears of dirt and dried blood littered his bare chest, arms, and pants. His pants was the only article of clothing he had, though even it was riddled with tears while the right leg was completely gone from the calf downward._

 _He flinched when the incoherent yelling suddenly increased. The constant loud noises blared, piercing his brain like blunted tuning forks._

 _He couldn't even form a thought! With gritted teeth, he raised his head as his irritation boiled over._

 _"AGH! SHUT THE FUCK UP, WOULD YA!"_

 _The young man continued to glare into the darkness surrounding him as the voiced finally went silent. Multiple phantom pains made themselves know all over his body, causing him to groan under his breath. It felt like his body was on big bruise!_

 ** _"Such impudence."_**

 _A sudden pressure bared it's entire existence on him with such force that he felt several of his ribs crack. He was ill prepared for such an invisible as it brought him onto his knees while his face slammed into the tile with enough force to shatter it._

 ** _"To think a lowly human – no matter how powerful – would have the gall to think it could command us! Hmph!"_**

 ** _"It doesn't seem to know the situation it's in, it seems~…"_**

 ** _"Silence! It matters not…"_**

 _The chained man struggled as he turned his face to the side so he could glare at the surrounding darkness, blood leaking from his broken nose. It was getting difficult to breath. His lungs felt like they were being squeezed!_

 ** _"For crimes committed by the unjust slaughter of many Demon-kin and the use of forbidden interdimensional magic, this human's sentence will be far more severe…"_**

 _The kneeling human snarled and growled as he continued to struggle against the unseen force. Little by little, he managed to slowly lift his upper body off the floor. His sore muscles and fractured bones violently protested with each movement, but he pushed on regardless._

 ** _"Oh my~! What's this?"_**

 ** _"Even in it's fragile state, it's still able to find the strength to resist our will. How interesting…"_**

 _The young man finally managed to straighten his upper body before he leaned back onto his legs, exhaling a plume of steam from his mouth from the strenuous effort._

 _The invisible weight baring on him lessened a bit as he took desperate, pained breaths. Even as fatigue began to sink into his sore muscles and aching bones, he continued to glare at the beings he assumed were in the shadows around him._

 _"Who the hell are you people? Where am I? And what the fuck do mean, 'crimes committed'?" he spat some blood from his mouth, "Is this some kind of… court trial or something?"_

 _ **"YOU DON'T GET TO ASK QUESTIONS, HUMAN!"**_ _A deep, overbearing voice roared, the sheer volume of their voice shook the tiles of the floor,_ _ **"In your foolish tampering with time and space, you've managed to weaken the barrier between our realm and the human realm!"**_

 ** _"With the barrier weakened, ANY being with sufficient power can easily cross border! Your foolishness has endangered your world, human!"_**

 ** _"This act in itself is enough to be sentenced to only being Sealed. Unfortunately for you, for the outright murder of hundreds of innocent Demon-kin, you will be sentenced to an eternity in the Pits of Gehenna!"_**

 _The human couldn't believe this. These things had it all the wrong, Right?!_

 _"The hell do you mean 'innocent', huh?! I needed to protect my friends from those demons!"_

 _There was utter silence that went on for what seemed like minutes to the young man. Tension built up within him along with a faint feeling foreboding…_

 ** _"Oh~ you poor, mistaken fool…"_**

 ** _"You truly believe it was 'us' that invaded your world?"_**

 _He could feel his stomach begin to twist in unease as the foreboding feeling escalated. His eyebrows furrowed in suspicion as his mind became filled with questions._

 _"What the hell are you talking about?..."_

 _One of the unseen beings chuckled,_ _ **"It is exactly as we say. We as Demons have been strictly FORBIDDEN from ever interfering with the Human Realm by the sacred barrier placed by the Gods. It has been like this for over a millennium!"**_

 ** _"Even if there was a portal linking our realms, the pure holy energy from the barrier would vaporize anything non-human."_**

 _The human's eyes widened at this. Gears in his head began to turn, memories of malevolent creatures – abominations to very meaning of life. He had slain many of them so that he could protect the school and his friends. Each corpse he made only seemed to evaporate, leaving no trace of their existence. He had assumed that they were demons!_

 _His gaze fell to the floor as he lowered his head. He could feel his own sense of reality begin to crumble, 'If those weren't demons then… what was I even fighting?'_

 _"Was… was is all just an illusion?"_

 ** _"No. The beings that invaded your world were amalgamations of negative energy, abominations."_**

 ** _"Physical manifestations of the evil that resides within humanity, fueled by their dark sinful desires. Only a select group of humans still call them 'Horrors'."_**

 _ **"Over the centuries, many humans have mistaken these Horrors for Demons."**_ _The voice beyond the shadows growled in anger,_ _ **"It's insulting!"**_

 _ **"I think it's hilarious!"**_ _Another voice spoke out, the seductive undertone giving away its femininity,_ _ **"For centuries, the human race has been trying to fight off beings that they thought were demons when in reality, they had been fighting the darkest aspects of themselves!"**_

 ** _"The only possible reason Horrors are able to cross over into the Human realm is most likely the fact that the laws of nature still classify them as 'human'."_**

 ** _"We're getting sidetracked…"_**

 _The man looked up towards the shadows, the deep feeling of guilt and regret began to fill him as he came to the realization of his current situation._

 _He had miscalculated… severely._

 ** _"It matters not that you've been mistaken, human, there are still many that want retribution for the deaths of there fellow Demon-kin. Understand that as 'God Hand' we must pass judgement on all that seek to disturb the balance of the world!"_**

 _He bowed his head again. His jaw clenched as he grit his teeth to the point that they could crack._

 _He was resigned to this, and yet… another part of him want to fight back, resist. For some reason, it didn't sit with him at all to just accept something like this. Every fiber of his being screamed out at him to deny, to resist. And yet…_

 _'This is what I deserve… isn't it?'_

 ** _"Let's not forget about the fragile state the barrier is in now in. With it weakened as it is, there'll be nothing to stop the more powerful beings from crossing over…"_**

 ** _"I wouldn't doubt that there are those who still harbor hatred for humans…"_**

 ** _"So what if a few measly humans are killed before the barrier is fully reinforced..."_**

 ** _"It couldn't be helped."_**

 _Time itself seemed to come to a sudden halt for the man when he heard those words. Guilt began to fill his very being._

 _His reckless choice has put the entire human race in danger. Because of him, beings from other worlds are free to roam his world as they pleased. And there are those that still hate humans…_

 _A vision passed through his mind. A vision of a girl with purple hair and a beautiful smile. A promise left broken…._

 _Then a spray of blood as her angelic image was torn in half by shadowed hands in brutal display of gory violence._

 _Various veins bulged along his arms, neck, and around his face as muscles flexed and strained against the constant pressure pushing against him. His heart raced as power began to build within him, familiar crimson electricity surging around his form. Shakily, he stood up…_

 _ **Defy**_ _._

 _His pupils dilated into small points while his hair stood on end, his expression showing his nearly deranged mental state._

 _'I have to get out of here! I need to find a way home! I need to be there to protect them!'_

 _"Let me g-AAGH!"_

 ** _"SILENCE HUMAN! You have spoken enough!"_**

 _The man shouted in pain as demonic runes were suddenly began to burn onto the flesh of his neck. He brought his shackled hands to his throat in an attempt to somehow alleviate the searing pain. As if by some invisible force, the branding snaked it's way completely around his throat. When the dark runes connected, the sound of his voice vanished in an instant._

 _When the pain stopped, he slumped forward a bit on unsteady legs. After silently gasping for breath, he tried to yell out at the shadows once more…_

 _"…."_

 _The man's eyes widened in shock as he found no sound had come from his own mouth. He tried again._

 _"…."_

 _Nothing. He reached back up to his neck, fingers tentatively grazing the dark markings burnt across his throat and neck._

 _'W-what the hell?!'_

 ** _"With the Seal of Silence now branded on you, Human, your punishment can truly begin."_**

 _Pitch black darkness began to collect under the young man, causing him to take a step back in panic. Dark, inky tendrils that seemed to be composed of solid shadows launched out of the darkness at high speeds and latched onto his arms, legs, and neck._

 _He could feel a coldness so chilling that it seeped into his bones, making them feel brittle and sapping him of his strength. He tried to struggle against the sinister appendages, but his efforts proved futile as the tendrils began to steadily to pull him into the darkness._

 _As he sunk further into the muck, he felt the that same cold, chilling unpleasantness enter into his flesh, muscles, and bloodstream. Black spots entered his vision while his consciousness began to fade. Before he was completely consumed, he heard the demonic beings speak one last time._

 ** _"From here to the day your bones turn to dust and your soul is claimed by the infinite void, you shall experience suffering even the most malevolent of beings are hesitant to face. Forever shall you be known as one of the Scorned."_**

 ** _"Pray to your gods for mercy now because soon enough…"_**

 _His vision completely faded._

 ** _"You will be praying for the release of death."_**

 **…**

My eyes peel open, welcoming the bright morning sunlight and a plain white ceiling. I didn't do anything cliché like rubbing my eyes or anything, they adjust quickly with very little irritation. I heave a small breath.

Just another morning for someone like me.

I feel a slight tickle in the back of my mind an I turned my head to the side a bit and I spot my trusty sword propped up against the wall next to the door. I already knew what that 'tickle' in my brain meant. Bokyaku has been relatively quiet lately, and that's saying something. Although…

…could I really call him a sword though? I mean, technically, he's a-

 **Stop.**

Rude. Interrupting my thoughts like that. I consider my inner monologues most precious to me, you know.

 **You should know better by now not to dwell on things that have already come to pass. It's dangerous to revisit such toxic memories.**

You say it like I actually control what I dream about each night.

 **Regardless…**

I'm just going to take a shot in the dart and assume that you're the one that woke me up, right?

 **I refuse to allow my student to become lax in his daily routines! And I'm pretty sure that your brother and his room mates have already woken up and are now rushing to school now.**

Ah. Well, it is time to get up then, thanks.

 **Mm.**

With that conversation out of the way, I finally make an attempt to get out of bed. I say 'attempt' because, judging from the considerable weight on both sides of me along with the smell of familiar nature fragrances mixed with dry sweat, I can already tell exactly who had invaded my bed… _again_.

I can already feel the temptation to look downward and take in the supple fresh of both beauties enveloping both of my arms between two pairs of large, soft, and squishy things.

…yeah, I can assume that I'm being squeezed between the large breasts of Lucoa and Tohru.

I _resist_ the urge to look and continue staring upward. Being so close to them now though, their light snores told me that they are still asleep. But I won't be fooled, this isn't the first time they've done this.

"Come on, up and at 'em! I can't go to work if you girls keep holding me down like this."

…

Still no movement, huh? Damnit! They just had to start laying on me like I'm some kind of pillow! I wasn't lying when I said I couldn't go anywhere with them on me. They were A LOT stronger than most people would believe.

Then again, most people wouldn't know that these women aren't actually _human_.

I jolt a bit when I feel two soft, feminine hands begin slowly roaming my naked body, one sensually making circles on my chest and abdomen while the other – almost hesitantly – made its way southward towards my groin. _**Yes… lower…**_

Shit! I can already feel my head start to fog as my body began heating up.

"H-hey now! Now is NOT the time, okay!" I try to shift my legs around so that I can maneuver my way out of their grip.

That is until I suddenly felt my legs get locked between their luscious thighs. Ugh, come on! Just keep looking at the ceiling Zane and whatever you do, don't. Look. Down!

"Quit screwing around would ya?!" Keep in control man!

Warm breath hits my left ear while Lucoa's _**fucking sexy-ass**_ voice reaches my right ear, "Now why would we do that, Z-baby~? Here you are laying with two beautiful, naked, and _willing_ women; any man's fantasy, I'd say." Her warm breath tickles my ear, the pleasant vibrations of her voice softly pounding against my eardrum.

 _ **Fucking bitch…**_ "You know _damn_ well why, Lucoa."

I grit my teeth tightly to the point that I can feel the bones my jaw pop. I begin to franticly scan over the rest of the room for my bandana, my only source of solace at this point.

I nearly lose it when I felt something soft and wet runs over the ridge of my collar bone, followed by chaste, lingering kisses against my pecks. I know the texture of that tongue anywhere, that has to be Tohru! "Come on Master~, last night was so _amazing_! Give us _more_ ~!"

Ah! _**God damn**_ , she's really good with that tongue of hers. My body only gets hotter and my breath becomes ragged while my vision tints red. _ **I can already imagine how if would feel if were wrapped around my-**_

With my last dregs of will power remaining, I raise my head and slam it into the pure wooden surface of the headboard behind me. All I heard was the sound of wood being slammed into by something hard – probably my head – and all I felt was something in the back of my head cracking.

 _Ouch_ … I'm not surprised that my head gave way first. Lucoa or Tohru must've enchanted the bed to be able to withstand our "activities" last night.

…Okay, I say "activities" but what I really mean is sex. We most likely had A LOT of sex last night.

 _Uuugh!_ I don't want to think about that stuff right now. My head is still ringing from slamming into magically reinforced wood. But at least the pain is at the forefronts of my mind right now.

Where are you, my bandana?!

As if sent by some base gods, I spotted a small sliver of black fabric wiggling under the door to the room. I managed to form a small grinning smirk. If I could leap in joy I would!

Now I just need an opening…

The two horny dragon women shift next to me and I'm forced to shut my eyes lest I give in to this accursed _**lust**_. Even with clothes on, the mere sight of these two 'succubae' can induce most human men and women to do whatever they wanted just to get in their good graces.

Lucoa was most notorious for this. Even if she didn't know it at times.

Or did she? I can never tell sometimes.

I feel a soft, warm hand lay upon my forehead and a soothing sensation wrap around my sore skull like a heated blanket, "Now why did you go and do that?"

Because I hate myself, apparently.

"It's not healthy for you resist whenever the _urge_ arises, you know~." They both shift some more and I can feel their thighs start to loosen from around my legs. Gotcha! "Don't become such a stiff and let yourself become stiff, you know what I'm saying?"

Oh god, I knew it was a bad idea to let her watch anime. She's been watching that 'Panty and Stocking' show again.

That doesn't matter right now, Zane! You finally have a way out!

I unclench my fists, causing my knuckles to pop from having been tightly locked for so long. I continue to keep my eyes closed, but, I'm confident enough in my ability and intimate knowledge of both Tohru's and Lucoa's bodies that I can accurately guess where to aim. I have to be quick!

With my plan formulated, I set it into action. I swiftly shift my arms within the gaps between their warm bodies and mine, my hands reach for their intended targets.

"Ahh!"

"Ahn~!"

There we go, jackpot! Judging from their airy gasps and the almost smoldering heat surrounding my hands, I must've got direct hits. But it's not enough, I need to get passed the surface if this is going to work. As I ready my index and middle fingers on both hands, I couldn't help but to think about my favorite thing to do when I play my favorite video game.

 _ **Plunging attack!**_

"Eeiiii~!"

"Ooohh~! So you are ready for another round, huh?"

I can feel their wet, velvety flesh wrap and constrict around my fingers eagerly! But it's already too late to turn back, I've crossed the point of no return. My blood flows like liquid fire through my veins, it's too hot!

 _ **Indulge.**_

NO! I have to resist! I won't give in like this!

 _ **…Har**_ _uko…_

As my sanity teetered on the edge of the abyss of endless carnality, I manage to channel power to my fingers. Only one thought came to my mind right now…

 _ **Retribution!**_

There was loud crackling of electricity – kinda like that sound that comes from a live taser prod, except it's amped up to the hundredth degree – while I can see bright, flashing light from under my eyelids. I also feel Lucoa's and Tohru's bodies lock up from what I assume would be the result of my rather potent energy being forcefully pumped through their bodies.

I open my eyes and I immediately try to hold back my amusement at the extremely comical sight of the both of the powerful dragon women twitching and convulsing as their bodies flashed violently with red light. It almost reminded me of those old-school American cartoons where the characters would be electrocuted in an over-exaggerated manner.

It was actually… pretty fucking hilarious.

I hold in my laughs for later as I finally execute my "masterful" escape plan. Don't quote me on that, though.

…

Who am I even talking to? Haah! My mind's pretty fucked up, huh?

I retract my hands from the two paralyzed women and with a swiftness and grace of a drunken sailor being tossed around on a rocking ship in the middle of a storm, I launch myself up and roll myself forward out of their grip.

"Come to me, my bandana!"

As I feel my back impact the floor in front of my bed, I hear a *swish* through the air and I raise my hand to catch the flying sentient fabric. As soon as the soft silk touched my hands I quickly and hastily wrapped it around my head in the usual fashion.

Just as ice cold water would put out a blazing hot fire. If their were visual effects, I wouldn't doubt that there would be steam coming out of my ears. All of the heat within my body steadily disappeared; only to be replaced by a numbing emptiness.

I exhale, a plume of steam exiting my mouth. Haaah…

At last… the chaotic mess that is my mind can now re-focus. All of my sensations feel numb, yet, I don't feel cold. The feeling of soreness and discomfort I have been feeling previously disappears. The increasing desire and arousal evaporates from my mind. My normal vision fades and is then replaced by a black and white world that surrounds me. It's still an odd experience but I'm use to it by now.

Even the amusement that I felt earlier is no longer there, and yet…

A _chuckle_ escapes my lips.

"Back to a life of contradictions, eh, little buddy?" I pat the top of the bandana on my head as it twitches and wiggles a bit in mute joy.

This my norm, the mask I wear for all the world to see. The facade of emotions and expressions all in place to disguise the empty hollowness that's its true front.

To be able to express emotions through body language and voice and yet not able to actually feel them took a lot of practice. Far too much to be proud of.

All for the sake of keeping my new, darker desires sedated.

Yesterday was just a slip-up. I let myself get too excited when I saw all of my old friends; old feelings resurfaced and surged all at once out of my control.

That won't happen again. I know what to expect. I'm in control now.

Enough about the depressing details about my new life though. With my usual smirk in place, I bent my legs and sprung myself off the floor and on to my feet in one smooth movement.

With my back turned from the two women, I place my fists on my hips and laugh boisterously, "Haha! Ladies, you shall always remember this as the day that you almost caught Zane Oyama!"

As I hear the two women moan and groan in response, I turn a bit to look at the two of them.

From what could tell, both of their bodies seemed to be smoking a bit from being electrocuted and Lucoa's expression certainly didn't hide the fact that she really must've not seen this coming. It was pretty hilarious to see her and Tohru's, usually luscious, hair frayed and sticking out in all sorts of directions.

Huh… maybe I overdid it a little bit. I look over at Tohru to see her expression, expecting it to be similar to Lucoa's.

…

...Umm… why does she have such a satisfied look on her face? Her tongue's out and everything! I can faintly see her body glistening a bit with what I assume is sweat, her bountiful chest heaved as she panted heavily. _**Ohh man….**_

STOP IT!

I immediately avert my gaze as I feel that familiar heat spread through my body again. Even with the parasitic fabric wrapped around my head, the mere sight of these otherworldly women in such a state can still induce a response from me. Can you blame me, though?

 **Zane. School. Now.**

Right! Right. Time to get ready and get going.

 **If you leave now you can still catch up to them just before they get there.**

All righty, then! "I'm gonna to take a quick shower before I go. _Alone_." I add the last part after they suddenly perk up, causing them to whine. Geez! Didn't they get enough of me last night, damn! "Take care of the dorm while I'm gone, Tohru."

"I will, Master Zane! I hope you have a great day!"

I don't think I'll ever get use to her calling me that. But, she was insistent on being my 'maid' and calling me 'master'. Plus, she seemed happy and content with it, so it's no big deal.

She never told me why, though.

I asked her about it a little while back and she had this forlorn, almost, heartbroken expression while she told me that she didn't want to talk about it; just that it was something she loved to do a long time ago.

I didn't pry deeper than that, everyone's entitled to their secrets.

Even me…

Just as I open the door to exit the room, I stop and turn my head towards the two dragon ladies once more. My gaze fell on the particularly mischievous one.

"Try not to get into any trouble while I'm gone, Lucoa."

Said cause of most of my headaches had the decency to squawk in surprise, "Seriously?! That's all you have to say?! No 'see you later, Lucoa' or 'love ya, babe, hope you have a nice day'?"

"Nope."

"BUT WHY?!"

"Out of the three of you girls, you are the only one that seems to cause more trouble and misunderstandings every time you leave the house." I pause for good measure, a small frown to my lips while I cross my arms, "And you know who always has to fix those messes?"

She tentatively poked her index fingers together while she had her head tilted down towards the bed sheets, "Uhh… you do?"

I smirk a bit and point at her, "Got it in one."

I turn back around to enter the hallway, the cooler air spreading across my body. I couldn't help but to think that I'm forgetting about something…

Just as that thought came to my mind, I heard the door a little ways down the hall creak open, a head full head of flowing, luscious hair poking out of the opening.

My third housemate, Kanna, looks at me with her usual deadpan expression. The four horns framing both sides of her head, above her ears, only seemed to enhance her adorable presence. Even though a small fraction of her body was showing, I could vaguely make out a small portion of a loose, nightgown dress she usually wears when she sleeps.

One of the straps falls down her shoulder a bit, exposing a bare hint of her smooth skin.

Lucoa and Tohru told me once that a while back, Kanna use to have a younger, more childish form. That was at the time when the young dragon was beginning to go into a dragon's equivalent of 'puberty'. At some point before he met the trio, she woke up one day with a teenage human body.

Still a young dragon she may be, she's now reached an age where dragons begin to look for mates. In _earnest_ , he may add. And even if Tohru said that Kanna's size is still pretty small by dragon standards, the fact still stands that her body type rivals most of the human girls I know.

God damn!

Kanna's eyes narrow slightly at me and she puffs her cheeks a bit, "You guys are being too loud."

Her eyes widen by a margin and her mouth forms a small 'o' after a few seconds of staring at me. I don't get it, was there something on my face?

Then her eyes travel downwards.

"Ooohh! So that's what a penis looks like?"

"CHRIST!" I immediately cover my crouch with my hands so fast that I would've sack-tapped myself painfully if I wasn't as hyper aware as I am right now, "Close your door Kanna!"

I can practically feel my face burning in embarrassment and mortification as I reel on the ex-goddess that found the situation hilarious and was now laughing with much gusto.

"LUCOA! Why didn't you warn me?!"

"Haha! *snort* I didn't think I had to, babe! Haha! Oh my god, I never would've thought that I snort when I laugh!"

"Are you going to mate with me now, Zane?"

Even with this brain-draining parasite wrapped around my head, these three are still able to incite these complicated emotions out of me…

Ugh… These women are going to be the death of me. _I just know it._

 **To be continued…**

 ** _AN: Good lord above!_**

 ** _Once again able to crank out another chapter for the slow-going story of mine. I'd like to remind everyone that I'm NOT a consistent writer. I write as a hobby. I have a job and classes for college are coming up soon. Which means that chapters will NOT be coming out like they're hot cakes, okay?_**

 ** _It took me while to get this chapter out because I've been looking it over repeatedly. I'm still not even sure it is completely proofread._**

 ** _But I have done my best to get this right, and as always, I hope you enjoy!_**

 ** _And if you would, please leave a review. I'd like to know your feedback._**

 ** _Until next time!_**


	9. Chapter 9

_**AN: I do not own anything but my OC and my idea**_ **f** _ **or the story**_ _._ _ **.**_

 **Chapter Nine: False Facsimile**

' _Why does it seem like I've become a living punch-line in some sick and twisted joke?!'_

Takeru couldn't really help but to ask himself that as he and his female roommates sprinted from their dorm towards the school campus. Well, to be fair, the girls were the ones that were running. He, on the other hand, was struggling to even keep up. Takeru panted and wheezed as he lagged behind, trying his best not to collapse.

' _God I hate running! Am I really this out of shape?!_ ' When he was a kid he use to train all the time. Sometimes his older brother dragged him out of bed in the early mornings so they could do their usual morning routines.

"Oh my gosh! I can't believe I wasn't paying attention to the time! I hope we aren't too late!"

"Why do I have to run?! I don't care if I'm late!"

"As long as I'm the Leadership Committee Vice President and the fact that we're roommates means that's going to have to change!"

"Takeru's falling behind!"

"Pick up the pace pervert!"

Although, his own motivations to train had dwindled quite a bit ever since his mother died and his relationship with his father dropped significantly. When he and Zane lived on their own, Zane had been the only one to motivate him and even then those were few and far in between. They both had to attend different schools because of the four year age gap and Zane was usually pulled away somewhere by Dr. Takehito for some sort of 'special' training that left him coming back with new bruises and injuries.

I wasn't until shortly after that small bit of motivation completely disappeared when Zane left for high school. There had been times when Zane called him to check up on how he was doing. Although, when the subject about how his progress was going… Takeru lied about it.

He felt horrible and guilty for it, but, is was because he didn't want to disappoint his older brother for going back on the promise he made when he was younger.

' _Four years…'_

It had been so long ago when he had come to terms with Zane's 'supposed' death. Takeru thought for the longest time that the guilt over having spoken lies as his last words to him over the phone would have faded. But things have changed…

Zane came back.

Now that same guilt has returned, bringing along bubbling anxiety that began to slowly build up with the knowledge that his older brother is back in their lives again.

Even then, he was still grateful for the opportunity to be with his brother again. He won't be alone anymore.

Takeru gasped and wheezed as he barely managed to not trip over his own feet. The girls continued to call over to him as they stood behind the closing gates of the campus.

' _Ahh man! I'm going to be late!'_

He was forced to grimace when the wind briefly whipped wildly in front of his face, causing him to halt his sprint. It was also then that he felt a hand firmly grip the back of his jacket.

"Come on Takeru! You're gonna be late if you don't pick up the pace, man. Here-"

"Eh?!" The grip on the young man's jacket abruptly increased as he felt his body lifted off the ground.

"I'll give you a lift!" Just as the figure heaved the teen onto his shoulder he bent his knees a bit before leaping off the ground towards the closing gated entrance, Takeru screaming in fright along the way.

The others watched in amazement and shock as the older man seemed to have _appeared_ behind Takeru before grabbing him and leaping into the air and over the gate!

His landing rattled the ground and whipped the dust around mildly. Minori, who had been standing next to the young women, observed the figure's form in mild surprise, "That was a little over fifty yards. That's quite an impressive feat." _'I didn't even feel any Element being used. Was that just raw natural ability?'_

She didn't notice that some of the small hairs on the back of her neck were standing up slightly.

The others saw the man's silhouette stand up in the cloud of dust as he dropped Takeru with a yelp. "Come on Takeru, it wasn't that bad… Achoo!" He sniffled a couple times, "Place needs a good sweeping; a lot of dust around here."

Minori, Haruko, and Kodama stood stock-still as they recognized the man's voice, although, Kodama was frozen for a different reason than the two other women.

Inaho, on the other hand, waved excitedly towards the imposing figure, "Good morning Nii-chan! Did you sleep well?"

The man turned towards the group while swiping his hand, dispersing the cloud of dust with a single swing. As his appearance became visible, they took minor note that he was wearing the same attire as yesterday. The lack of his sword being the only difference from yesterday.

And just like yesterday, he still had that seemingly ever-present grin.

"Ah! Good morning to you as well, Inaho. Seems you've almost overslept again, huh?" He greeted just as Takeru began standing back up while dusting his clothes off.

Inaho sheepishly scratched her cheek with her finger, "Oh, you know how it is sometimes… hehe."

"I don't know actually-"

"You've got some nerve." Having been the first one to break out of her initial shock, Minori spoke up with her arms crossed, "Wouldn't that make you late too."

"Semantics, Ri-Ri." Came his cheeky reply.

"Wow. I almost forgot how much of a smartass you could be."

"Regardless of the circumstances, there shouldn't be any excuse for being tardy." As Takeru got up from the ground , Zane and everyone else turned their heads towards the new voice. Furan Takaki, with calmness and authority, walked up to the group.

She stopped right in front of the taller man, her stern gaze boring into him, "It doesn't matter if you are the hero of this school, when you're on this campus – be it as a student or staff member – you are expected to follow the rules."

"And since we're now a co-ed school again," she poked her finger into his chest with some force, "a lot of the male students look up to you. We can't and won't have someone of your status acting with a 'too cool for school' attitude." Her eyes narrowed further, "Am I understood?"

Everyone stood in silence and with widened eyes as they watched the president of the Student Council stare the powerful man with next to know fear. Those that knew her were even more surprised that the girl with a fear of men would do such a thing, especially towards someone like Zane of all people.

The grin on Zane's face disappeared the moment she touched him and had been a flat neutral line for several long moments.

His grin appeared again, though, a bit more subdued compared to moments before. He raised one of his hands and waved it a bit in surrender, "Alright, alright. I'll make sure to set a better example and not be late next time. Won't happen again, Ms. President."

Furan stared at him for a few seconds longer before dropping her hand and readjusted her glasses. She then firmly nodded her head, "Good. I'm glad you understand."

Takeru and the others all collectively sighed in relief, _'That was intense...'_

Kodama remained silent, continuing to stare at his other hand. It had been closed into a tight fist, although it seemed as though it was currently gripping something unseen. _'Kaguzuchi! Why can't I get him to dematerialize?!'_

" **Please release us Kodama-sama!"**

" **Yeah! I know the two of us can take him!"**

Kodama noticed that Zane's grip suddenly tightened and his left foot shift just slightly. She flinched a little a brought her gaze toward the man's face.

His head was slightly tilted and his grin had widened again.

Somehow, even when it seemed to everyone else that they thought he was solely paying attention to Furan, in that very moment, Kodama _felt_ his gaze on her through that bandana as well.

All of his attention was now on her.

' _He heard us?!'_ This was the first time in a long time that Kodama actually felt genuinely nervous of a human. She halted her other Shikigami from attacking, _'No, don't! He can apparently see and hear you, which means that he is more powerful than we thought. I don't want to create a spectacle in front of the others.'_

" **A-as you wish, Kodama-sama."**

"… **Fine, but if he makes one wrong move I'll strike him down in an instant."**

The gaze she felt from the man disappeared and his posture returned to being more relaxed; the underlining tense atmosphere still remained.

"As for you, Ms. Amaya!" Haruko stiffened upon hearing Furan addressing her. The Student Council President continued to stare down the nervous young woman, the light from the morning sun reflecting off her glasses intimidatingly, "We _will_ have our talk later about your tardiness."

"Y-yes ma'am! I'm sorry!"

Zane chuckled a little, although he was still facing away from her direction. Haruko blushed in embarrassment, the note from yesterday still on her mind.

Furan continued to speak, "But that can wait. I need to come with me to the Student Council room so we can discuss with the others about a current pressing issue."

Haruko perked up at this, "Issue? What's happened?"

"It would be best if you came along now. It will be discussed during the meeting." After receiving a nod from the Vice President they both headed off.

Just as Haruko passed Zane, her eyes subtly veered towards him for a couple moments. His grin shrunk into a small smile before he turned towards Takeru and Inaho.

"You two better head to class as well. Wouldn't want to be late on your first day, right?"

"Okay! Come on Takeru!"

"Uhh, alright… See you later, I guess."

As they departed as well, he felt Minori softly place her hand on his shoulder before she spoke to him, "Hey," he turned his head to her and she found it a bit unnerving how she couldn't see his eyes with the bandana in the way, "Meet me in my office so that I can tell you about your duties for the day, kay?"

As she began walking away, he couldn't help but notice how she added a slight sway to her hips as she walked. As a matter of fact, she certainly knew how to work that tracksuit - _'No!... Best not to think about it now. I have one other thing to take care of while I'm here. It's a good thing the others left already.'_

Just as he finished that thought, his senses picked up a small amount of violent electric currents from behind him before he braced himself.

Just as everyone else left, Kodama took this chance to stun the man while he wasn't looking. Channeling Ikajichi's power into her hands she lunged at him with impressive speed and thrust her palms into his lower back. She grunted a bit in pain, _'OW! What is this guy made out of?! Whatever, I'll teach him not to mess with me!'_ A few hundred volts should knock him for a loop and get him to release her Shikigami.

Discharging her attack into the unmoving man, she watched as his body lit up from a shock that was equivalent to a minor lightning strike. Not wanting to actually kill him, she ceases the electrical discharge and watched as small amounts of smoke rose from his clothes. She noticed how he hadn't made any noise of pain of discomfort from her assault as well. He even still had Kaguzuchi in his grasp.

Ever so slowly looking up, she takes in the fact that the muscles in his back and arms were now tense and coiled, ready to spring. She also noticed how other than the light scorch mark on the spot on his back where her slightly bruised hands had been planted, there was no other visible sign of damage.

His head slowly turned to her and she caught a glimpse of a snarly grin on his face. It looked almost unnatural being there. Kodama's heartbeat became erratic as anxiety built itself within her mind, plaguing her thoughts. The sound of her heart pounding in her ears muffled the voices of her frantic Shikigami.

Her body seemed to move on it's own as she took a shaky step backwards. Just as her back foot touched the ground he was upon her.

It happen in an instant; so fast that she barely even registered it.

One moment his back was facing her and the next he was facing her, his taller and broader form eclipsing the morning sun. The very light around them seemed to flow into him, making his features become obscured in darkness; she could only see the white of his teeth. She felt him place his left hand onto her head, the leathery texture of his gloves clasping onto her scalp in a firm grip.

Then she suddenly felt an unseen power forcefully invade her body, nearly causing her to choke. She tried to get away from him but her body refused to obey her. She felt the world closing in on her, it became difficult to even breathe.

' _I... I can't move! W-what's going on?! What's happening to me?! Kaguzuchi! Ikajichi! Nojichi!'_

She desperately cried out for her Shikigami to come to her aid as they always have, but, she received no response from them.

Impossible! This shouldn't be possible! They were a part of her power, she created them! Nothing in this world should've been able to cut off her connection like that! How can a simple human be capable of something like this?!

For the second time in her long life, Kodama felt helpless.

This was like the moment her beloved brother sealed her into the mountain all over again. Was this what was happening? Was she being seal again?!

For the second time in her long life, Kodama felt afraid.

"I bet this is a first to you, huh?"

Kodama was viciously dragged from her thoughts as the man spoke to her, his lips and mouth the only things visible to her.

"To have control over what's yours _ripped_ from you, leaving you a puppet at the whims of a higher power. A prisoner inside your own body."

Sweat began to drip down her forehead, his very presence was overwhelming to her. The eeriness of his crescent smile filled her with more dread of what he could do to her in the very near future.

"Don't worry though. I'm not going to harm you; I'm just gonna give you a warning."

His face leaned closer to her, his voice caressing her ears in a subtle and sinister way.

"I saw the way you were looking at my brother yesterday, so much killing intent… and for what reason?..."

He paused, contemplating something.

"I'm pretty sure that being a simple pervert isn't enough to warrant killing someone. Whatever the case may be…"

His face moved back from her ear to the front of her vision again. The smile was gone and two dull, dead grey orbs peeled open where his eyes should be. She found no empathy, no mercy or kindness within those hollow pools.

"You better not bring any harm to my little brother, _spirit_."

' _H-he knows?!'_

"I know _who_ you are. I know _what_ you are. So, if you bear even a single hostile _thought_ against him or anyone else here, I won't hesitate to _**break**_ you and shove you back into that mountain in _pieces_. I'll make sure you'll never wake up again. Are we clear?"

Kodama felt the overbearing pressure on her body lighten up a bit and she nodded her head shakily, tears on the verge of falling from her green eyes.

"Good." His eyes disappeared within the darkness and his mouth reformed into a sardonic smile, "Here, you can have your little friend back now." Almost instantly, she felt the captive Shikigami return to her.

With that being said, Zane moved away from her and began to walk away while her vision of the outer world returned to her. Just as he was a few feet, he stopped and spoke over his shoulder to her once more, just loud enough for her to hear over the chirping birds.

"See ya around, _little snake_." Then he continued walking, hands resting in his pockets in a lax manner.

Kodama was left standing there, motionless and speechless, before collapsing to her knees. Her Shikigami immediately materialized and tried to console her as she hugged herself, desperately trying to hold back her trembling and tears.

Never before had she felt so terror-stricken and violated.

…

As Zane stood in front of the principal's office door, he took a few moments to remember the times he had to be called here in the past. There were quite a few.

In fact, he did recall this one time…

 _He had been walking through the academy's courtyard after having just won a duel with a brave student. That was, of course, until the dude decided to bring his friends into the fight._

 _All hell broke loose after that._

 _Tomiko had just arrived to the scene and had to run damage control when he decided to vacate the scene before blame could be place on him for the damage. He just hoped that the staff lets him off the hook this time since this technically wasn't his fault-_

 _["Zane Oyama, could you please report to the Principal's Office, immediately."]_

"…"

 _Some of the students that had been in the courtyard at the time stopped what they were doing when they heard the announcement. A couple even began staring at him._

 _Oh great. It seems he had already begun to become iconic._

 _He sighed, "…god damnit."_

…Yup. Definitely not one of his fondest memories for sure, but, it led to him becoming iconic for causing some sort of property damage whenever he went into fights.

It was the first time that he was called into this room. The principal at the time had given him a bit of a scolding for engaging in a 'non-sanctioned' duel, on top of the fact that some trees were destroyed because of it. With a metaphorical slap on the wrist he let me leave, although, not without clueing Zane in on the fact that he knew about his connection to Takehito.

Turned out that the two of them were actually old friends and he was part of the reason why he was recommended to Tenbi Academy.

Ever since then, whenever he found some extra free time, or when he was called to the man's office again for whatever reason, he would chill there for a bit and the two would converse at times. The man knew how to shop for couches, those were really nice. Under the professional exterior, the man actually turned out to be pretty chill and laid back. Granted, he wouldn't say that the two of them had become friends, but, Zane had respected him.

He had been very angry when he found the man's mangled corpse in office that day.

Pulling himself from his flashback of the past, Zane gently ran his hand over the wooden texture of the doorframe.

' _It's… good to be back._ ' Now he can actually be here for the people he held dear to him and protect them.

He turned the knob of the door and pushed the door open. "Sorry for keeping you waiting for so long Ri-Ri," he began to turn to her after closing the door, "I was kinda lost for a-" he went on to say, only to stop when he felt Minori's body suddenly collide into him. The amount of force was subtle, yet, it was enough to make him take a step back to keep balanced.

His eyes widened slightly when he registered her arms squeezing him around his upper waist and back. She buried her face against his chest and he could feel her heart beating from the closeness between them. Her slightly muffled voice rang softly through the empty room, "Y-yeah," she inhaled deeply, her breath shaky, "yeah you were..." He heard her sniffle some more. "But, you're here now, right?"

' _This… this isn't a dream. I can see him, I can… feel him again._ '

So taken off guard he was that it took him a solid minute to register the fact that one of his dearly missed friends was actually hugging him. Hesitantly, he brought his arms around her in return; one arm around her shoulders and the other wrapped around the middle of her back. He felt Minori's body relax almost instantly within his arms.

"Yeah… you're right. I'm here."

Zane held her in an embrace that suggested a firm yet gentle nature, but even then, she didn't know that this act was only simulated. In reality, he couldn't feel the warmth and affection, even if he truly wanted to. To him, she was like a smooth marble statue, sturdy and resilient, but, he still couldn't squeeze her like she did him. Minori may be tough in her own right, but unfortunately, even the most resilient stone could still crumble in his grip.

He couldn't fully return the embrace and the realization only made him feel more hollow.

The two of them remained silent for a little while longer before he felt her release another long breath, having fully calmed down. Zane loosened his arms from around her when she went to separate from him. She then went to wipe her cheeks of the tear streaks, "Sorry about that. I'm just… really glad to have you back."

Zane waved it off, "It's alright Ri-Ri, I get it. Although, I really wasn't expecting a hug, I didn't mind it."

"I'd even go as far as to say that I actually kinda enjoyed it a little bit."

Minori stood silent as a soft pink blush rose to her cheeks, mouth slightly agape. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, her lips tweaked into a very mischievous smirk, "Oh~, so you _liked_ it, did you?" She placed her fists on her hips and leaned towards him, subtly prompting him to tilt his head downwards while his mouth parted just a tad as his hidden gaze fell to the revealing opening in her top. She silently reveled in the fact that he could still see through the bandana he was wearing, "And just what about it did you enjoy the most, hmm~?"

"I... uh…" He began to sweat a little when a very familiar heat began to rise within his heart. He raised his hand to the back of his head and when to scratch it a bit. Instantly, like a new layer of cold water washing over his head, his erratic thoughts were suppressed before they could become dangerous, "I don't know what you're talking about."

She took one of her hands and gripped the zipper to her tracksuit, dragging it down further slowly, "Phew! It sure is musky in here, huh? Someone must've bumped up the air conditioning again." She said offhandedly while she fanned herself with her other hand. More and more sensual and delicious flesh of her generous cleavage became visible, the very swell of her breasts seemed to almost burst out of the jacket. Her smile turned into a full on grin when she saw the muscles in his neck flex subtly as he swallowed, ' _Hehe~! Looks like I've still got it!_ ' Even then, she had to admit that even her heart was hammering in her chest.

Even when he knew better to look away, Zane just could bring himself from indulging of the show she was putting on, ' _She's certainly stepped up her game._ _I didn't even know she could get bigger. Holy fuck! This just isn't a battle that I can win!_ '

He needed a distraction before things could escalate further.

Just as Minori began to bring it lower again, she stopped when they both heard the noise of something loudly vibrating, the sound breaking the mostly quiet atmosphere of the office room. Minori reached into the back pocket of her pants and retrieved her phone. After skimming through, she finally came upon her most recently received text.

Immediately after reading it her eyes widened almost comically while she hurriedly put the device back into her back pocket and she zipped up her top back to it's "barely" appropriate standard. "Shit! I almost forgot I had to assist Tomiko with her class for today! I gotta go!" She rushed passed Zane just as he went to reach for her and burst through the door.

"H-hey wait, Ri-Ri! You forgot to tell me about my… duties for the… day. God damnit." he trailed off as she had already sprinted off to her destination. He brought a hand over his mouth before dragging it down in a exasperated manner,. He sighed in resignation, "These women are making it _progressively_ harder for me to keep my composure."

He felt a vibration in his right pocket and went to reach for the source, pulling out his Android phone, "Huh, almost forgot I had this thing." After unlocking it he checked out the text he received. It was from an unknown number, ' _A telemarketer?_ ' He then read the contents.

 _-By the way, if you EVER tell anyone that I'm going soft or something… I will MURDER you!_ \- _Minori._

Zane snorted softly through his nose, ' _Yup, same old Minori. She hasn't changed much._ ' She even had his number too. The old man must've given it to her and the others. Although, as things were now, it seemed he'll have to keep his guard up around her. Wouldn't want her to trigger something _dangerous_ inside of him.

One should never poke a caged beast, as they say.

- _Just who do you take me for, Red? Also, you neglected to tell me what my actual duties are, so I'm gonna have to explore for a bit to pass the time._ \- _Zane._

After having sent his response and saving her number, he stowed his phone away and walked up to the window behind the desk. He opened the glass door to the balcony and walked outside before closing it behind him.

The view from the office was still quite amazing, or at least he assumed it still was. He could assume the warmth of the morning sun was a great contrast to the crisp cool breeze as it caressed his body in an almost welcoming fashion. He could assume that the clashing blend of vivid and bright colors of the landscape could even be enough to induce a sense of slight euphoria and nostalgia.

That's all he could do; assume and remember. Otherwise, it would be too much of a risk for him to experience these kinds of things again.

Nevermind all that. "It's not just about me anymore." he said quietly to himself. He had to keep reminding himself that the only reason and motivation for him coming back was for his friends and family, even if he wasn't sure himself that it was for the best. Spending a year and a half in Gehenna had _changed_ him and if was for the best that no one else knew about it.

It was better for everyone this way… right?

Zane shook his head, ' _Thoughts for another time._ '

He folded both of his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner, the fabric of the bandana twitching every few moments. His usual grin formed back on his face, ' _Well, I've got nothing better to do. Might as well explore for a little while until I can find Takeru._ '

With that thought he leapt off the balcony.

…

"Alright class! Since my assistant seems to running a tad late, we're just going to try and go over everyone's introductions to pass the time, okay?" The homeroom teacher, Ms. Tomiko Amado clapped her hands with a soft _plop_. Her eyes remained closed as she smiled welcomingly to her students.

Takeru sat at his desk on the boy's side of the room with his head bowed, trying to pay attention to what the teacher was saying. The mild intensity of the surrounding atmosphere around him was beginning to get to him a little.

' _Geez, I can practically feel the stares from the other guys in the room. What's their problem anyways?_ ' He thought to himself as he made it an effort not to let his eyes linger too long on any of his fellow male classmates. Although, he did get a good look at Inaho a few times as she glanced longingly at him in return from the girl's side by the window.

And it wasn't just that that had him tense either, a lot had been happening recently over the past couple days. First – and probably the main reason – was the recent revelation of his said-to-be dead brother, then there's the fact that he's also working at the school as an aid. Finally, there's the _really_ cute girl that claims to be his fiancé, but he couldn't recall or remember anything about her.

"I'm Kengo Usui. My main hobby is admiring anything that is inherently beautiful, especially the female form." One male student in the seat next to him said, bringing him out of his thoughts to look a the young man. Kengo had a confident posture even if his introduction completely lacked any subtly. He even had a smile on his face that tried to make him come off as charming, but, it only served to cause the female students to either roll their eyes or scoff in disgust.

It was as if the boy didn't have any shame, and he was proud of it. Takeru would admit that he was little envious of Kengo's openness with his seemingly perverse passion. Takeru may be perverted himself but that was only because he believed it was 'normal' for boy's his age to want to look at hot naked girls. That boy made it seem like being perverted was like a way of life.

"Thank you, Mr. Usui, for your… um… unique introduction." The teacher clapped her hands again with another soft _plop_ , "Okay! Who's next? Oh, I believe that would be Mr. Oyama, correct?" Even with her eyes being closed as they are she still manages to turn her head in his exact direction.

' _How does she even do that?_ ' Takeru thought to himself. It was then that her words registered to him and he briefly looked around the classroom and noticed that everyone was now staring at him with varying expressions.

Some students stared at him with widened eyes, while others – the males that glared at him from before – now were looking at him with mild apprehension. The atmosphere in the room had definitely changed and he wasn't sure if he should've felt relieved or even more nervous!

Trying his best to ignore the other students, he stood from his seat, "Um, hello. My name is Takeru Oyama. I, uh… don't really have any interesting hobbies I guess. Hehe..." He chuckled awkwardly while rubbing the back of his head.

The students then began to whisper amongst the classroom.

" _Doesn't he share the same last name as the hero?_ " One girl asked.

" _They do! Could they be related?_ "

" _No way! They look nothing alike. They have to be distant relatives at best._ " One male interjected almost vehemently.

" _I'd definitely go with one of them being adopted._ "

" _Yeah. I bet the only reason a cute girl would be with him was because he's related to the famous 'Hero of Tenbi'._ "

Takeru's eyebrow twitched a bit in agitation at that last comment, ' _Jeez, that's such an messed up thing to say. What an asshole._ '

Ms. Amado spoke up when the whispers became louder, "Alright, settle down! Settle down, please!" When the talking didn't cease she clapped her hands again with a little more force. The resounding _clap_ sent a startling shock through the noisy students and caused everyone to stiffen in their seats. Takeru shot back down into his seat in an instant.

Everyone was rendered silent.

With a pleasant smile still present, Ms. Amado took in the silence for a few moments before speaking again, "Thank you. Now if we can continue without anymore outbursts…" she trailed off when she and the students heard a rush of footsteps in the hallway.

It was only a couple seconds afterwards when the Principal came bursting through the door. "Alright, I'm here! Did you already start without me?" She placed a hand on her hip as she looked at Ms. Amado, "What's with that look?" Minori asked when she saw her friend mildly pouting at her.

Some students were surprised by her sudden appearance while a smaller portion of the boys stared at admittedly inappropriate display of visible cleavage her tracksuit supplied. They all had only one singular thought.

' _Wow… even the teachers here are smokin' hot…_ '

Ms. Amado released a small half sigh, "Oh, it's nothing." She turned back towards the students with her usual expression back in place, "Anyways, now that my assistant is finally here, we can officially get started on today's activities. We'll just have to finish introductions some other time."

Minori perked up, bringing the attention back to her, "That's right, and as your _amazing_ principal, I'll help make sure you reach your maximum potential!" she pumped her arm into the air, a joyful grin on her face, "So let's go get our learn on!"

"But before we do that, every student is going to get their physicals at the nurse's office today."

"Ladies first! So make your way into the hall right away girls."

Takeru was a bit confused about this, ' _Physicals already? That's kinda weird._ '

As the girls made their way out of the room, another thought struck him, "Wait, everyone's getting a physical today and this is a co-ed school," a perverted smile flashed on his face, "So that means…"

Instantly, he and the male next to him shot their hands up shouting, "Teacher!"

Ms. Amado addressed the young men, "Is something wrong gentlemen?"

Both of the boys look at each other for a second before speaking in strange unison again, "I don't feel so good, my stomach hurts and I really need to go to the bathroom!"

…

The morning sun beamed down on Zane as he walked around the school grounds, taking in some of the changes and re-acquainting himself with the territory. He really should've done so yesterday if he was honest. He wasn't too busy after announcing his reappearance during the welcoming ceremony. And he already visited the fountain area to destroy that memorial of him.

' _Speaking of which…_ ' he thought absently when he looked over towards the fountain. There was a couple of police officers along with three female students on site while a small news crew was off at the side. He recognized two of the girls, one of them being the same Student Council President from earlier and the other being Haruko. ' _Haruko…_ ' a image flashed through his mind, bringing along with it a torturous memories.

He frowned as he sharply poked the bandana with his finger, "Growing _real_ lax today, pal." The clothe wriggled before he felt the memories fall to the backgrounds of his mind once again. He leaned against a nearby bench as he watched the small gathering of people. He didn't recognize the third girl, though. She had a short haircut and her eye's were close. At least he thought they were.

He was glad to be a far enough distance from them that they wouldn't notice him, but, he couldn't make out any particularly small details from where he was either. Not with the bandana on, at least.

From what he could see, Haruko and 'Ms. President' Furan Takaki were talking to the local law enforcement about the pile of rubble surrounded by yellow tape.

He chuckled a little to himself.

They were treating it like it was some sort of major crime scene. He could already see it now: _"On today's news, an unknown deviant defiles private property by destroying the memorial to Tenbi's beloved hero!"_

Or something like that.

' _I wonder how they'd react if I told them that it was me._ ' He mused to himself.

"So you're the famous 'Hero of Tenbi' everyone's been talking about." a new voice spoke behind him.

' _The hell?!_ ' Out of reflex, Zane spun around to face the new presence only to see a young man sitting on the bench he was previously leaning against. He wasn't even looking at him, seemingly reading some kind of comic.

It took Zane a couple of seconds to get over his surprise over the fact that this random guy had just seemingly popped up out of nowhere. That shouldn't have been possible, his senses should've picked him up.

There aren't many people he knows that can sneak up on him. He never did like surprises.

Zane decided to respond to the man, while sliding his bandana from his eyes so he can observe him, "Yeah, and how'd you figure that? Who are you? You don't look like a student here." The frigid tone in his voice was a swift contrast to his usual demeanor. The man looked highly suspicious to him.

The man leaned his head back against the bench as his left leg was laxly folded over his right and he held the comic with his right hand while his left was resting against the armrest.

The man didn't look all that special, other than the fact that didn't even look remotely Japanese. His skin was of a lighter brown tone and his dark brown hair was trimmed down and faded on both sides. He wore a simple long sleeve white button-up shirt that had both sleeves rolled up to the elbows and had a couple of the top buttons open, leaving his tanned neck and collarbone visible. He also had a very small mole right in middle of his chest. The shirt was left untucked from his black jeans and he wore simple white skate shoes with black lining and laces. An overall very simple apparel choice.

He looked back at Zane with an amused smile, his shallow brown eyes calmly staring back at his cold grey.

The unknown man then snapped the comic shut before responding, that same amused smile never leaving his lips, "Whoa! Settle down, there's no need to be so suspicious." He closed his left eye, "I may not be a student here, but, what makes you think that I'm not a member of the staff?"

"Are you?"

"No way in hell." The man's response was as quick as a whip.

Zane raised a brow, "Okay. If you're not a staff member or a student then who are you? I'm pretty sure random strangers aren't allowed to just wander around the campus." Not to mention the fact that something about this guy just made him feel tense. He wanted to chalk it up as a result of him getting near him without him knowing.

"Oh, I'm just a wanderer; traveling to different countries, learning about their cultures. Kinda like a modern day vagabond of sorts. You can call me Austin." He began to spin the comic on his fingers idly, "It caught my attention when I was passing by this small town when people were talking about how their 'lost hero' came back from being dead for three years. By the way, expect to be hounded by media whenever you're out in public."

Now that he had gotten an answer to his question Zane was able to relax a little, though the constant feeling of being on edge was still there. "Not going to tell me you're last name?" he asked as he slid the bandana back over his eyes and sat down on the opposite end of the bench.

The man's smile never faltered but Zane could tell that there was a slight shift to the tone of it, he couldn't tell what the tone was though, "Nah! Sorry to say but, uh, I can't tell you for _personal_ reasons."

"Ah." Zane felt a bit bad for being this forceful, "Sorry."

Austin waved him off, "Don't worry about it." He chuckled a bit, "You know, you're the first 'celebrity' I've talked to in person."

"Really?" Zane would've thought that with all the traveling he claimed he did, he would've met many other famous people before him.

Austin nodded his head, "Yeah! I know it kinda sounds ridiculous. I mean, I've been wandering the world for years now and the first famous person I meet has been supposedly dead for the past three years. I'm also pretty sure that it was you that defeated that gang of extremely dangerous Element users a couple months back too." He stopped spinning the comic in his hand, causing Zane's attention to fall towards the strange cover.

He had never seen anything like it before.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is it that you're reading? I haven't seen any comics or manga like it before." Strange as it might've been, Zane couldn't help but find it intriguing.

The man held up the comic for him to see it clearer, "Oh! This is just an old American comic I had lying around at the time." He opened it up, flipping through the pages.

The cover depicted to seemingly powerful and imposing characters in the middle of a cataclysmic clash. One was a massive, hulking figure with dark grey skin and sharp, bone like spikes protruding from various parts of his body. The other was a smaller, yet, one can easily tell that this figure could still be considered to be strong as well. This man seemed to be on the losing end of the fight, with the blood and the heavily tattered blue, yellow, and red costume. The surrounding area looked to be breaking apart and the buildings around them crumbled.

A great hero versus a vile monster… and the hero was losing.

Zane grunted a bit, it was some pretty impressive artistry, "It does look pretty freakin' cool."

Austin closed the comic again and ran a hand over the cover slowly, almost fondly, "Yeah… it's the only one of it's kind in the world. You won't be able to find it anywhere else."

A brow arched under the bandana, "Oh, how come? Who's the author?"

Austin went to speak but stopped and stayed silent for a few moments, seemingly thinking about it, "I… uhh… Huh! I… can't seem to remember."

Just then, the phone in Zane's pocket began to buzz. He pulled it out of his pocket to read the notification. It was from Takehito.

 _-Would you please come by to the Nurses Office? I need your assistance with moving some of my supplies in for these physicals the students are having today.- Takehito._

 _-Sure thing. On my way now.- Zane._

Placing the phone back into his pocket, Zane stood up from the bench. He turned his head towards the other man again, "I gotta get going. It was nice talking with you."

Austin waved his hand, "Same. I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of each other in the future, I plan on sticking around here for a little while."

"Alright then, be seeing ya, I guess." Zane waved back over his shoulder before blurring out of sight.

Austin's mirthful smirk widened before becoming more devious, "He is quite fast, that much is true. Speaking of which…" he raised his arm up as a wrist watch materialized out of thin air and began beeping. He set his arm back down and looked around.

When nothing else happened he began to look around, puzzled. The smile he had vanished and his mouth fell into a flat, neutral line. He brought up his arm again, looking at his watch with more intensity and confusion.

"That's strange. It's been several minutes now, those two should've…" he trailed off when he heard and saw two male students sprinting around the outside of the building in front of him.

One of the boys had light brown hair, though, in the light it seemed more orange. The light would reflect off the glasses he wore frequently as he he ran. The other boy had slightly longer dark blue hair. Both boys ran as if their very lives depended on it, practically flying up one of the taller trees that was next to the building.

Austin's lowered his arm once more as he watched on, "Huh… They were at least ten minutes off schedule." His brow furrowed, "My prediction was wrong. _Again_."

Then just as suddenly, the devious grin reappeared on his face and he chuckled lowly, "Another anomaly has appeared. One I that I have no control of…"

Small sparks of light began to shine within the dark pools of his eyes, life seemingly returning to them.

' _It's been far too long since I've felt like this!_ '

With a full blown grin he carelessly tossed the comic book over his shoulder and it evaporated into the air as particles of light. Then he pulled a phone out of his pocket and dialed a number into it and brought it into his ear. ' _Let's spice things up._ '

[ _"Hello?"_ ]

If it were possible, his grin widened even further.

"It's me again. Listen, remember that prisoner that had escaped from the Nether Realm several months back? I just found him and he's quite the force to be reckoned with."

[ _"I heard that someone had found a way to escape from one of the pits of Gehenna after taking down one of the members of God Hand. Quite an impressive feat. I doubt he's as strong as you say though, but, I'll look into it. There is a lot of money on his head after all and it might help alleviate my boredom for a few minutes."_ ]

"Excellent! Want me to tell you where to find him and cut the trip short?"

[ _"Nah! There would be no fun in it. I'll look forward to crushing him."_ ]

"Alright. I'll see you when you get here then, Yuki Terumi." With that, he hung up and placed both of his hands in his pockets and silently basked in the cool breeze of the morning air.

' _A new path has been discovered, bringing with it unknown mysteries that even I cannot see. A new story is being born right before my very eyes and it's all because of you, Zane Oyama._ '

Austin released a brief laugh, "I wonder what will happen next."

…

 _ **AN: …**_

… _ **.Uhh… Hey everyone! Gotta say, it took me a while to make this chapter. Though, it was mostly due to either playing games, finishing another semester of college, my job, and reading other good stories on this site.**_

 _ **I even admit to loosing a bit of my drive to write this.**_

 _ **That was until I got this one particular review from Sirvancelotgraves(all one word). Their review was my main motivation for writing again. Their comment, although inaccurate, made me realize something. To get my readers to understand the plot and the characters' reasons for being in the situations they are in, I need to expand on them more. And that means that I can't just leave the story off the way I did last chapter. I need to write more and find places to leave off that allow the readers to feel satisfied, yet, hungry for more. And for that, I thank you, Sirvancelotgraves, for motivating me to write again.**_

 _ **Even though you never responded back to my pm's to you about why you disliked my work so much and yet you favorited many other stories that featured tasteless harems and girls with penises. (I know, I saw your history)**_

 _ **I'm going to be straight with all of you. At first, the comment took me by surprise, I didn't know people like that still existed on a site that inspired creative writing and free thought.**_

 _ **Oh well…**_

 _ **Anyways!**_

 _ **I'm going to rap up this AN with three questions:**_

 _ **Who truly is this Austin character?**_

 _ **And what kind of chaos will he bring with him?**_

 _ **And is anyone else fucking HYPED for the new Destiny Forsaken expansion? I certainly am!**_

 _ **Until next time.**_

 _ **P.S.**_

 _ **Sorry for the missing chapter in the first post and the re-post. An error had taken place and needed to be posted again and I needed to iron out a couple of issues and fix a couple things to keep consistency. Converting files can be a pain sometimes.**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**AN: I do not own anything but my OC and my idea**_ **f** _ **or the story.**_

 **Chapter Ten: Sanctuary Lost**

"Hey, Takehito?"

"Hm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"That depends, will this one be one of your 'infamous' rhetorical questions, layered with sarcasm? Because if it is, I have a feeling I already know what it is."

"No, no. This is a perfectly reasonable question."

The older doctor let out a breath in exasperation, "…Alright, shoot."

Zane spread his arms out and gestured to the their surroundings, "What the fuck am I still doing in here?" Straight in both expression and tone, Zane could almost make such a feat into an art form.

"Way to lay it on thick, kid."

"Can you blame me, old man?!"

The reason for the young man's ire was mainly because of the fact that they were inside the nurse's office. The room seemed large enough to house multiple beds and had several female school nurses roaming about. The room itself had curtains pulled around to help give the first year girls on the other side their own privacy as they got undressed and had their examinations. From time to time, a female nurse would exit from the curtains and re-enter after grabbing a certain tool or after recording some data in a notebook off at the side.

Throughout the entire time Zane had been here, most of the women had been staring at him for one reason or another. Some of them were indifferent while others had frowns and glaring eyes.

Any other time Zane would have found the glares a refreshing change from the usual love-struck expressions from most of the female students. Right now though, they were beginning to get on his nerves.

Zane folded his arms and leaned against the window he was standing in front of, "They probably think I'm some kind of pervert."

"Well…" Takehito began, looking up from the notes on some of the nurses gave him, "if it helps, I could tell them that you're here on my orders. Some of the staff here are probably still trying to wrap their heads around the fact that you've been my assistant for the past few months."

Zane shook his head, "That won't explain why I _need_ to be here. I already helped bring some of you're equipment in like you asked, but, I don't have any medical experience and they already have more than enough staff that they don't really need me around for anything else. Especially with examining young, growing, teenage girls." He paused for a moment, "You can see where I'm going with this."

The older man leaned back in his chair as he began to relax, "Look, Zane, I could tell you the real reason for remaining, but that would ruin the surprise." He threw a glance towards the younger man with a raised brow, "I honestly don't know what you're complaining so much about. Most men would give anything to be in your position."

"Well, I'm not _just_ most men, old man."

"Besides, didn't you say that _thing_ you're wearing on your head should be able to suppress any physical and mental stimuli you may feel?"

Zane placed a hand on his head, feeling the semi-sentient fabric quiver under his fingers. He then spoke in a more hushed tone, "Even this thing has it's limits, Takehito. But it's better than the alternative…"

The doctor hummed as he responded to his aid in a more serious tone, "I see…" he closed the notebook and laid it on his folded legs as he sat back in his chair. With his other foot he pushed himself back, the wheels of his chair rolling him backwards next to his compatriot by the window. He then spoke in a quite tone after leaning a bit towards him, "Can I take this as a confirmation that you need more sessions?"

Obligating not to answer, Zane instead stayed silent and turned away before nodding his head hesitantly, lips pursed slightly.

' _It seems the scars from that time weren't just physical, and these one's run deep._ ' Takehito narrowed and his brows furrowed in deep concentration, ' _I've never seen him this vulnerable before. Is being here effecting him this much?_ '

The doctor had to admit that he was surprised by the younger man's subtle demeanor. Deep down, Takehito knew something was _unstable_ about Zane, but, the young man wouldn't go too much into detail about his time in the Nether Realm and would even play it off like it was no big deal at times. He had to resort to asking his dragon companions about it.

" _Well, all I can really say is that when we met him, he seemed vastly different from how he is now. I would tell ya more, but, that would make him angry with me, sorry~."_

" _I try not to make it a habit to bring up bad memories, especially with Zane-sama. He may have asked me about mine once. Though, he hasn't since and I appreciate that." Tohru paused before clasping her gloved hands together in front of her, her expression turn from somber to a more tender one, the amount of love hidden within her eyes was prevalent, "I know that there's a lot of pain inside of him, he's a lot like me in a way, and that's why… I'll do whatever it takes to help him bear through it. With all of my heart…"_

" _Zane-chan was a big meanie when we first met, but, at least he was more honest." Kanna placed a finger on her chin before looking away in thought, "Wait, he's also kinda honest now as well, it's just that it feels… 'forced'. Like if he was just acting, and yet… I know that he's a good person deep down, I've seen it." The younger dragon smiled, "It's the reason why I like him a lot too."_

 _Before Takehito could conclude his talk with them, Lucoa had at lease given him one piece information._

" _He told me once that he had never held so much hatred for anyone before he was imprisoned. He even said that it would be a while before he could trust us. Even though it seems as if he's slowly opening himself up, that may only be a result of the many nights we've spent together. I can tell that there is still a deep-seated hatred inside him, somewhere." The Ex-Goddess gave a half shrug, "Whether it's him or something else, I'm not sure."_

Takehito pulled himself from his thoughts when he noticed the door to their side of the office open and his daughter walked in with a strange mechanical box in her hands. She seem a bit flustered by something – by what, he didn't know.

"There you are, Aki."

"Hello Daddy! Sorry it took me longer than expected, I had to go and grab Keronbo on my way here – Ah!" she halted her step and gasped when she spotted Zane leaning against the window.

Zane turned over to her in return with a mildly surprised expression, his mouth slight agape. His mind reeled back in awe as he observed yet another bombshell of a woman that he knew from his past.

' _Jesus Christ, she's even prettier than she was back then. Didn't think that it could be possible…_ '

He could guess that she was just as surprised to see him as he was to see her because she was also staring at him. So focused on him she was that she didn't notice that her grip on the mechanical box was loosening, causing the item to slip out of her hands. Just as it left her hands, Aki squawked as she went to catch it before it hit the ground.

In a burst of speed and a whip of air, Zane's body moved from the window. His feet appeared to glide across the tiled floor as he stopped in front of her and caught the device with his left hand. He blew a sigh of relief as he stood back up, "That was a close one." He looked at the blushing woman, "Still as much of a klutz as I remember. You really haven't changed much, Aki." His lips turned up in a genuine smile as continued to gaze at his face.

The blush on her face darkened further.

He sweat-dropped, ' _She's even gotten taller too. She's practically at eye level with me now._ '

" **[ERROR]Unknown Element detected. HEY, WATCH IT PAL! PUT ME DOWN, YOU ASS!"**

Aki and Zane were brought out of the moment when they both heard the machine in Zane's grasp yell out.

"Here, Aki. You might want to take this thing back, I don't think it likes me that much."

"O-oh! Sorry about that. Thank you." she gracefully took it back into her hands and received a brief jolt when she touched the device. Something inside of her lit up; something within her heart began to heat up, ' _This feeling again… why now?_ ' The light in her eyes shimmered as her gaze fell upon him again, ' _Is it because of him?_ '

"Hey, you alright there Aki?" His voice broke her out the momentary fog in her mind. She saw a mild frown on his _handsome_ , half-covered face, "Your face is extremely red. You catching a fever or somethin?"

Aki blinked before shaking her head, her blush receding. She smiled bashfully as she delicately moved a long lock of hair behind her right ear, "It's nothing. I'm just surprised to see you here, is all."

Zane took a step back from her and placed his hands in his pockets, "Really? I thought that your dad would've told you that I would be here."

Takehito spoke up from behind him, still in his chair, "I though it would've been a pleasant little surprise if I didn't say anything."

Zane turned his head to look over his shoulder at the older man, "You know I hate surprises, old man."

"Oh, I know."

Zane felt a slight sharp poking sensation in his abs and turned his head back to look at the woman that was still in front of him. She was pouting heavily as she kept poking him with her pen. Her cheeks were puffed up and her eyes were slightly narrowed at him.

She may have been trying to look irritated with him, but he could only see it as adorable.

Then she spoke, "That reminds me… How come you haven't come by to see me at all yesterday?!"

Zane grimaced as he took another step back from her, only for her to close the distance again, "I was busy with some things."

"Where you? Gen and Tomiko told me that you were hanging out by the lake alone when they went to go see you last night!"

"I didn't exactly expect them to come see me at the time. Ow!"

She poked him a few more times.

"And what about this morning with Minori?! She told me about it in her text!" Her eyes were watering childishly, "I thought I was your friend too!"

"Well, since I work here now, I'm obligated to check in with here in the mornings to get my duties started for now on – Ouch! Stop it!" At this point, Zane had to resort to swiping the offending pen from the cutely irate woman.

He then scrambled towards the window once more while pushing the chair Takehito was still sitting in between himself and Aki.

Even though his chair was forcefully moved, the older man sophisticated posture remained. "As amusing as it is to see my Aid trying to get away from someone like my daughter, I think it's about time we finally got started on these Maken Evaluations, Aki." Without looked up from his notebook he spoke to his daughter.

"Sorry, Daddy! We'll begin right away." With that, she placed the mechanical box on the desk and grabbed a nearby stationary chair and sat down by Takehito. Zane went back to casually leaning against the window again with his head titled downwards.

"And you…" Zane looked towards the man when he was addressed. On reflex, he easily caught two small objects that had been suddenly tossed to him. Takehito continued, "Despite what you think, Zane, I didn't decide to keep you here just to stand around."

Opening his hand, Zane saw that two rubber balls resting in his palm. He could help but to ask, "What are these for?"

"Considering the fact that this school became co-ed again after three years and that in itself is bound to cause problems between the students. I'm pretty sure you know what that entails." The doctor casually jerked his thumb over his shoulder, gesturing to the tree outside the window, "You see that tree there? It's almost as tall as this building and it's pretty close too."

"I've been hearing a couple of voices out there this whole time. My guess is that they've found a way to look through the gaps in the curtains."

"No way..." Not visually seeing anything through the leaves, Zane fully turned to the window and closed his eyes. **"Seek."** He tapped on the window a couple times and waited.

After a couple of seconds, he felt them. Two heartbeats, both would speed up every few moments – whether it would be from nervousness of excitement, he didn't know. The sub-sonic waves coming from their bodies travelled back to the palm he had on the window. Their exact locations appeared to him in his mind's eye.

Zane gave off a genuine sigh of long-suffering, "…You've got to be kidding me."

He then proceeded to open the window.

…

 _Meanwhile, in the tree outside…_

Takeru and Kengo had been peeping on the first year girls through the gaps of the curtains covering the nurse's office windows for several minutes now. Many large and bouncy breasts and booty were seen and rated. Many different colors and types of sexy and cute lingerie were cataloged. The great sanctity of privacy was ultimately broken.

At first, the two boys were originally annoyed with each other over the fact that they both had the same idea to come here to peep on the girls under the guise of going to the bathroom. Fortunately for the both of them, they quickly bonded of their mutual desire to see women in all their naked glory.

It was also then that Kengo spotted the adorable hottie from his class earlier. She was currently taking off her school uniform.

That's right baby, take it off!" he rooted while his face flushed with perverted excitement.

That was until he found his vision covered by Takeru's hands. "What the…" He paused before pulling the offending hands away from his face to look at the other male teen, "Why'd you have to go and do that?"

Then he remembered who exactly the other boy was next to him, "Oh, yeah… you're that dude that came into class late with her this morning. She claimed that she was your fiancé during the ceremony yesterday too." He then pointed at Takeru, "Look pal, it shouldn't matter if you two are engaged or whatever, I should have the right to look at her too."

' _What kind of logic is that?_ ' Takeru sweatdropped, "I'm pretty sure that should be enough reason not to."

"Whoa! Look over there, sitting on one of the beds!" Kengo cried out as he pointed at another target. Both boy's eye watered comically as the both held up tightened fists.

"I love co-ed schools, it's like we're in heaven!"

So enraptured in their enthusiasm, both of the boys didn't notice one of the windows off at the side opening.

"Honestly…" Zane grumbled quietly before calling out, "Get back to class you idiots!"

Channeling minimal power into the fist that held the rubber balls he flicked them with his thumb. Like a suppressed handgun shot, the projectiles whistled through the air at high speed.

Takeru and Kengo barely had enough time to register the shout before they heard rustling leaves and the impact of something striking them in their foreheads. The pain and shock from the surprise assault knocked them backwards off the branch they were on.

And down they went.

…

Zane chuckled as he saw the two boys hit the ground. As they ran off, Zane couldn't help but to recognize the panicked voice of one of them. He's heard it many times before…

"God damnit, Takeru." He grumbled to himself.

As he went to close the window the first set of first-year girls came from behind the curtains. When they saw the only two men in the room, some of the reeled back in shock as the tried to cover themselves.

"KYAAAH!"

"What is this?! I thought we were only being examined by women!"

Zane didn't blame them for thinking that. This _was_ pretty unconventional.

Aki tried to calm the girls down, "P-please calm down, ladies! There is a perfectly good reason for this!"

"There'd better be a damn good reason for this, Ma'am!"

"Yeah! It be too embarrassing for us to be so exposed like this to guys! How will we know that they're not going to perv out on us?!"

Takehito snapped his notebook shut, causing everyone to flinch, "Excuse me?" His tone was deathly calm and yet everyone could feel the underlining _edge_ to it. "That's quite haughty of you to say. A man I may be, but I am a doctor first before anything."

He slowly got up out off his chair, the air in the room seeming to have dropped to a chilling cold, causing most of the students to shiver. The light from outside the window and light from the ceiling seemed to become dimmer, as if a strange darkness began to encompass the entire room and was pushing back against it.

Takehito only stood there, hands in the pockets of his lab coat and looked the frightened students down with a calm, yet stern glare.

He continued on, "And I would ask that you wouldn't put my professional integrity as a doctor into question again. This shouldn't become a surprise to you but I'm sure you've had similar check-ups in the past before you came to this academy. All done by women and other _men_. And besides, I am a happily married man with a wonderful wife and an equally wonderful daughter. _I've seen better_." While most of the girls flinched at their hurt pride, Aki couldn't help but to blush in embarrassment.

Still turned towards the window, Zane sucked air through clenched teeth as he pulled the bandana a little bit further down his face. Even he had to admit, the old man could still spit fire like no other when he wanted to.

"Now…" Takehito sat back down his chair, smoothly crossing his left leg over his right and gestured with a hand to the chair in front of Aki, "If you all would kindly form an orderly line so we can continue on with the examinations…"

The girls shakily nodded and did as he said, the atmosphere of the room returning to normal once more.

Zane then shook his head, a small unseen smile on his lips, "You sure can be scary sometimes, old man."

"I have to be; I have to deal with you on a daily basis, after all."

"Harsh…"

Aki giggled at the banter between the two men.

…

 _Some time later, during the male physicals…_

As Takeru sat down in the chair in front of the well renowned Doctor Takehito Nijou in nothing but his white boxers, the older man looked up from his notes. His eyes deviated to the boy's forehead for a moment…

And snorted a bit while he turned his head to the side to hide his amusement.

"Please take this seriously, Mr. Takehito!"

"Sorry, sorry…" he waved Takeru off as he regained most of his composure, "It's just that it's kind of hard to look at you without seeing the large red dot on your forehead. Zane got you good, didn't he?"

Takeru perked up, "Seriously?! He was the one who did that?!" He really wanted to talk to him, both to catch up and to catch up and to deck him for ruining his youthful hobby once again.

"Yes. I certainly hope that you have learned an important lesson over this."

Takeru scoffed, muttering under his breath, "Whatever, it's completely natural for boys to want look at girls…"

"True, but not to the point that it's an _invasion of privacy_ , Takeru."

"Anyways!..." Takeru tried to divert the conversation, "You've seen my brother, right? Where was he, or do you know where he is now?"

Takehito merely raised a brow at the series of questions, "Oh, he was here to help around the nurse's office as the physicals for the female students was under way. As of right now though, I had him and Aki-"

"WHAT?!"

The sheer volume of the shout from most of the male students shook the room. Even some of the boys that were getting their measurement looked back at the doctor in shock with mouths comically agape. Takeru was shell-shocked by this, he couldn't even form any words.

Shock almost instantly turned into outrage as the angry teenagers began their tirade.

"Now I _really_ want to deck 'em!"

"What the hell?! How come he got to be here during the girls' physicals?! WHAT'S WITH THAT SHIT?!"

"I don't care if that guy is some sort of hero! There's still common curtesy for your fellow men!"

"I think you mean 'man'…"

"This is so unfair, it's frustrating!"

"Someone needs to teach that bastard a lesson in humility!"

"But wouldn't he just kick our asses though?"

"I'm too pissed to care!"

"We should elect a champion to fight against this injustice!"

"YEAH!"

' _I wonder if I should tell them that it was my idea to keep him around at the time..._ ' Takehito thought to himself before shaking his head, ' _Nah! I'm pretty sure Zane can handle it himself._ '

…

 _Meanwhile, in another part of the school…_

By Takehito's orders for them to take a short break, Zane and Aki had decided to walk through the halls of the main building. They'd been idly chatting about old times and how a lot of things had been changed since his time attending. He had even asked her how things had been between her and Takehito. Aki told him that their relationship was getting better now that he was around more and that her mother was very appreciative of that fact. She was happy that her father decided to retire from travelling and stayed around more often. She was glad that they can be a happy family again.

After that, Zane decide to remain silent and enjoy the calm silence of the empty hallways. Aki didn't speak either, wanting to respect his choice to enjoy the quiet. Though, it did dawn on her that it was the two of them now, alone, and her growing feelings for him kept springing into her mind every now and then.

Zane groaned quietly as he went to massage his forehead, ' _Ugh… why does my head hurt all of a sudden?_ '

Aki, who had been periodically glancing at him as they walked in relative silence, noticed his muffled groan and when to ask him, "Are you alright?"

"Hm?" He turned his head towards her while dropping his hand from his head, "Oh, it was just a sudden headache. Nothing to worry yourself over."

"Are you sure?" She was now fully turned to him as she walked in front of him, causing him to halt his stride, "If it hurts, I can relieve it for you with my element. Come here." She honestly didn't know why she was being so pushy about this, she knew about his powerful self-healing ability.

And yet, she felt as though she needed to do this.

Zane took a half step back as she tried to get closer to him, her massive chest brushing up against him briefly, ' _She's being oddly persistent._ ' "N-no, it's fine. It's already gone, there's no need to-"

Ignoring his words she pressed onward and placed her hands on his forehead while pushing his bandana above his eyes and closed her eyes. He stood stock-still as she channeled her element into him.

The world around them disappeared.

For a few moments she couldn't feel anything, only an empty void. She reached further within, diving further into the depths of his being. ' _Where is it?_ ' Why was it taking so long to find the stream of life force in him? Every living being had a life force, even plants. It's what keeps them alive after all.

She knew he had one too, she had felt it several times before in the past. This time though, it seemed as if it was trying to hid from her; avoiding her. She push further on until, finally, she found it.

Within the dark void, a small orb of crimson light nestled within a network of many streams of red energy; some being larger than others. The orb would pulse periodically, like a heartbeat, and each time she would feel waves of power wash over her.

Ever so slowly, Aki stretched her element towards one of the many smaller channels. Just as she came closer, she heard a sharp gasp echo through the darkness and the stream jolted back almost violently, surprising her.

" _Don't… come any… closer…"_

She responded, _"Why do you move away? I want to help."_

" _Leave me… be – I am fine_. _"_

The sudden transition in speech and tone was as sudden as static on an older television when switching between channels. While the first voice sounded faint and fragmented, the second voice sounded clear and louder.

Aki noticed the sudden shift, _"Why don't I believe you? Where is your pain?"_

" _I do not know what you mean. I am fine – He's… lying…"_

' _He's lying?'_ Aki didn't understand, what did he mean by that? It was like his subconscious thoughts were contradicting themselves now. She pressed onward, _"Alright then. Is it okay if we… re-connect… again? Just like old times…"_

"…"

Taking the drawn out silence as an affirmation, she made another attempt at connecting her calmer, more serene life force to his intense, agitated one. Just as her stream made contact with his, her mind and soul _reeled_ from the intensity of the power flowing through her. Flashes of images became projected in front of her like a slideshow on fast-forward, they moved far too fast for her to identify any of them. She caught brief sounds of a voice calling out.

It was Zane's voice.

" _RELEASE ME! LET ME GO!" he roared in anger._

" _I NEED TO GO BACK! They need me to protect them! PLEASE!" he yelled pleadingly._

' _What… is this?'_ Aki couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had never heard Zane sound so emotional before. He had always been a mostly silent stoic when he wasn't talking to someone or enjoying a fight.

Several moments of silence pass…

" _Is that all?!" his voiced growled out, "This pain is nothing! You hear me?! NOTHING!"_

" _Whatever you do to me, it won't last. I'll just regenerate it like it was nothing." He said in a smug tone, seething with distain, "It's useless."_

The next voice sent chills down her spine. It wasn't his voice.

It couldn't have been human.

" _ **Is that so, human~? If tearing your flesh, breaking your bones, burning you alive, and bathing your charred body in acid rain won't faze you, we'll just have to use something more potent then~?"**_

" _ **Guard! Go and fetch my Cursed Blade, would you~?"**_

Several more moments of silence passed when large growing cracks violently appeared around her in a sudden _**crack**_ of booming thunder and fractured glass, startling her. The cracks would periodically pulsate with vibrant red light while faint breathing could now be heard around her.

" _ **Now see, look what you made me do~. Your constant writhing cause me to slice that handsome face of yours. Hahaha~!"**_

 _ *****_ _Inhale_ _ *****_

 _ *****_ _Exhale_ _ *****_

There was no response from Zane other than his heavy panting and the sound of him vomiting. His breathing was shallow and pained.

" _ **It's no fun when you don't respond! Hmm, maybe I went a little overboard~? I just couldn't help myself, your howls of agony turned me on so much~!"**_

" _ **We'll leave you for the night and continue in the morning like always. Enjoy tonight's storm, human~! I here it's going to be another heavy downpour."**_

 _ *****_ _Inhale_ _ *****_

 _ *****_ _Exhale_ _ *****_

The pulsating cracks continued to grow as the sound of breathing got louder.

' _Need to… keep… breathing… Focus on just… breathing…'_

' _I don't want to hear anymore of this!'_ Aki couldn't take listening to this anymore. She just wanted to leave.

Then the dark world around her shook and an enraged voice roared throughout the space.

" _ **GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"**_

Her vision was then consumed by crimson light.

" _A…ki..._ -Hey, Aki! Wake up!"

Aki opened her eyes after what seemed like a long time, she was vaguely aware that someone was grasping her by the shoulders with firm grip. Her vision was blurry and her body felt weak and sore.

' _Why do I feel so drained?_ ' She rubbed her head as she tried to recall what happened in the last several minutes. When nothing came into mind, she became mildly distraught, ' _Why can't I remember anything?!_ ' All she could remember was walking through the hallways with Zane right up to the moment when she placed her hands on him.

She looked to where her name was called out as her vision cleared a little and she blushed at what she saw and felt…

Zane's face was so close to her own as he held her body close to his. His wide, sturdy, and well-defined frame almost encompassed her; she was half tempted to use her hands and feel the muscles of his arms and chest. It seemed like she may have fainted earlier and Zane had to catch her.

"Are you alright, Aki?" He looked at her with eyebrows creased heavily in confusion and concern, a few beads of sweat trailing down the sides of his tanned face.

"Ah-I'm fine, thank you." She felt quite a considerable amount of heat coming from his breath ask he asked her that question. She almost found herself drowning in the red pools of his pupil-less eyes…

' _Red?_ ' Her eyes widened and she immediate focused in on this. She always remembered his eyes to be steel grey in color, sometimes also becoming a shining silver when light would hit them just right. To find them not being that color now was… frightening.

Aki wouldn't freely admit it to anyone, but, she would say that she did have a small crush on him when he was a freshman at Tenbi. She remembered seeing him once before he attended the academy when her father brought her along on one of his visits to Zane's monthly physical evaluations. To say she was impressed was putting it mildly.

When there were times where she, Minori, or Tomiko weren't trying to 'recruit' him into Maken Ki, they would hang out like regular teenagers. Even though he was two years younger than the group, he seemed more mature than he let on. Although, he did still have a few childish moments.

Even with his strength and victories over them, he was mostly humble about them. She remembered him saying that he was grateful to have power, even though he knew that it could be dangerous.

At some point during those eight months, she had come to admire his maturity. She came very close to verbally expressing her feelings towards him a couple weeks before his disappearance. The only reason she didn't was because of Minori.

Aki knew for a while that Minori felt strongly for Zane – more than herself and Tomiko. Minori always made it apparent that she was frustrated whenever she was treated as less attractive to Tomiko and Aki by other men.

Aki had to admit that even she was a little annoyed by the constant ogling. She just wanted to be recognized by her skills and personal achievements more than her looks.

With that in mind, Aki silently held herself back from Zane at the time and even though she would be sad, she would be glad that her best friend had someone that seemed to like her in return.

Of course, things had to become complicated soon after.

 _ **Devour.**_

She winced suddenly as a brief, sharp pain jolted through her mind. She felt the grip on her shoulders intensify, causing her to look back to Zane in concern only to freeze on the spot at what she saw.

Quickly and hastily placing her back on her feet before pulling the clothe back over his eyes, "I have to go!" was all he said before suddenly rushing off down the empty hallway with visibly gritted teeth.

Aki continued to stand in that spot, tremors rocking her frame as that single image of his face in that very moment stayed at the forefronts of her mind. "H-his eyes…" she breathed in a mere whisper. She didn't understand, she couldn't understand…

There was now way…

' _They couldn't have been human…_ '

…

 _Minutes later, in a secluded area…_

Steam poured out of his mouth and nostrils as he heaved heavily.

Zane held his left hand over his heart, grasping at his chest and the fabric of his sleeveless muscle shit. His right hand was held in a tight fist against the wall he was leaning on. One could hear the bones his knuckles pop from how tightly he baled his right hand.

Sparks of red energy arched around his form occasionally as thermal heat wafted off him in waves.

More sweat dripped from his face and body, some falling off his skin while other droplets would already begin to evaporate into more steam. More and more steam rose off of him like a cloak of light mist; it was as if someone dipped a hot iron in cold water and left it to dry.

Zane wheezed through clenched teeth, "Ghhh! It's… too much!" ' _It feels like my blood is boiling!_ '

' _ **You need to get ahold of yourself, boy!'**_

' _I'm… I'm trying, damnit!_ '

He tried regaining control of his erratic breathing, only beginning as sharp intakes of pained breath.

In through the nose and out through the mouth… _in_ … and _out_ …

Just focus on breathing… _in_ … _out_ …

Why did he suddenly feel so… _violated_ back there?

…

 _Some time later…_

After finding a bench near the outside fountain to rest for a little while, Takeru sits down with an exhausted sigh. Inaho, who had been walking with him since the break, sits down next to him while she ate the sweats that she brought with her.

"This day just keeps getting more and more complicated…" Takeru breathes out, the compiling feelings of anxiety dialing down as he finally had enough time to 'breathe' and try to process everything that has happened. ' _First, the reality that my older brother is now back in our lives again, then there's the fact that I have to be extra careful because of me being apparently 'Maken-less' for a while. Along with whole 'mandatory' club joining business, there's also another thing I'm still torn on…_ '

He looked over towards the cute girl sitting next to him for a few moments. Inaho perked up when she noticed her love interest staring at her silently, "Is there something on my face?"

He flinched a bit as he was addressed, "Oh! Sorry, it's nothing…" he paused, "Although, I've been meaning to ask you something. It's been nagging at me since yesterday, during the welcoming ceremony."

She tilted her head in curiosity, "Really? What do you want to ask me then?"

"Well…" he leaned forward with his hands folded in his lap as he redirected his gaze towards the ground, "I've been meaning to ask… How you knew my brother, Zane? You've called him 'Nii-chan' before." He looked at her with a expression of confusion, "You two seemed close. How long have you known him?"

Stopping from her munching, Inaho looked at him with a slightly downtrodden expression, "You really don't remember?" Though, she should've expected as much, ' _Nii-chan did say he would have trouble remembering because of the amnesia._ '

Takeru rose an eyebrow at her as he scratched the side of his temple.

She went on to elaborate, "It was a several months back when he was brought in to my apartment by Mr. Nijou-"

"Seriously?!"

Inaho yelped in surprise when Takeru suddenly yelled out, now staring at her incredulously.

"Is something wrong?"

"Yes, there is!" Internally frustrated by this new information, he sunk his head into his hands. Inaho became worried when he let out an angry, muffled breath into his palms, "This means that the old man knew about my brother being alive _long_ before we found out about it ourselves! Why didn't he tell us anything?!" To think that the old man knew about this without even thinking of telling him or Haruko was just…

"…"

When he didn't hear any thing from the girl next to him, he looked towards her and saw her slightly fidget in place with widened, watery eyes.

"A-Are you mad with me, Takeru-sama?" She sniffled.

Grimacing at his own lack of control, he immediately went to apologize to the distressed girl.

"No, no! Of course not! I'm really sorry about that, I'm just frustrated." He placed a hand on the back of his head and smiled at her, "I honestly appreciate you telling me this, actually. It puts my mind at ease a little. Thank you."

Inaho beamed happily, ' _Oh, Takeru-sama…_ '

"Oh! There's also another thing I want to ask you as well." When she nodded for him to continue he went on to ask her, "Why do you keep protecting me? And what's with this 'fiancé' stuff you told Haruko and Kodama about?"

Inaho looked a bit saddened by this as well and looked away for a few moments, ' _I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I let Takeru remember it on his own._ '

She then turned back towards him with a mysterious smile, her eyes covering by her short, light brown hair, " _It's a secret._ " Her voice came off as a silent whisper only Takeru could hear.

"Huh?" Why was she being so cryptic all of a sudden?

"It was a promise made a long time ago, so please try your best to remember for me, okay?" No matter how badly she wanted to tell him of the past that they shared, she felt that it would cheapen their relationship if she had simply just told him. She wanted him to remember it all on his own so that it would feel more genuine.

He went to scratch his temple again, still pretty skeptical, "Okay, I'll guess I'll try then…"

"Oh!" a sudden thought came into her mind, "Have you decided on which club to join yet?"

Takeru sank back into the bench and looked up into the sky, "I'm still not sure, and that's another thing. For a school that encourages the students' freedoms, it's really strange that they enforce club participation, isn't it?"

"I don't really think it's that strange." Inaho went on to elaborate to him, "People usually join clubs that help them hone their element and maken."

"I did notice that, actually." The few clubs he did visit earlier had a lot of students using various abilities and fantastical powers to complete tasks. While most were quite amazing, others were still a little intimidating. A small smile formed on his face, ' _I wonder what kind of club Zane had to join when he was attending…_ '

A chuckle escaped his lips at the thought, causing Inaho to pause in her consumption of the ice cream cone she had been licking. She looked at her crush in curiosity, "What's so funny, Takeru-sama?"

"I was just imagining what school life for my brother was like here." He shook his head lightly in amusement, "Knowing him, he probably became popular by his third day. For all his talk about not wanting to be the center of attention, he sure did like to show off back then."

His stomach took this moment to make known its displeasure. Takeru moaned pitifully as his empty stomach began to groan, "So… hungry… ugh."

"You didn't eat anything?"

"Not since this morning before we left the dorm." He laid his head back against the bench, "We were in such a rush I forgot to grab my wallet." ' _Ughh… didn't even get a chance to make a bento for myself_.'

"W-w-well, I uh…" Takeru looked over towards Inaho and promptly sweatdropped as he saw her expression and posture, "I-if you w-want, I w-wouldn't mind s-sharing some of my f-food with you, Takeru-sama." With extreme reluctance, she thrust out a box of chocolate raisins to him with her eyes shut tightly. Frankly, she looked like she was genuinely struggling with herself over this.

' _She doesn't look like she wants to share!_ '

Takeru felt something tap the back of his head and looked back to see what it was. He saw a normal bento box wrapped in some clothe lightly dangling from a delicate, feminine hand and attached to that hand was his oldest friend, Haruko. She smiled down to him, "Here, I figured you'd forget so I made an extra bento for you." She looked over towards Inaho, slightly perplexed by her choice of food, "I don't think it's good to eat so much junk food, Inaho."

' _Ahh~, I'm saved!_ ' "Thank you, Haruko. I can always count on you!" Tears of relief flowed from his eyes in streams.

Haruko giggled at his usual antics before all three of them felt a sudden gust of wind blow around them, whipping their hair and clothes around and causing him to close their eyes. Haruko's eyes spotted something within the wind and quickly placed her hands on her skirt to keep anything not meant for others to see to be exposed.

As sudden as it appeared, it dispersed just as abruptly.

Haruko continued to stare off into the distance as Takeru and Inaho went to straighten out their clothes.

"Well, that happened." Takeru said as he casually passed off the random occurrence.

"Must be the weather?" Inaho said uncertainly before shortly noticing that the box in her hands was missing, "Hey! My raisins!"

As she began to frantically look around for the box, Takeru began to eat the bento offered to him while Haruko sat down next to him, "I couldn't help overhearing that you're still looking for a club to join."

"Mmhm!" He took another bite of his lunch.

"Well then… how about joining the Kenkeibu?"

"Fenfeibu?" Takeru looked at his childhood friend with the chopsticks still in his mouth. This also drew Inaho's full attention as well.

Haruko smiled at the two as she confirmed, "Yes, the Kenkeibu. I'll explain…"

Takeru and Inaho listened on intently as the sophomore went on her 'relatively simplified' explanation of the club's role.

…

 _Meanwhile, nearby in the courtyard…._

Leaning against one of trees out of sight of the three students, a certain bandana-wearing man could be seen eating from a box of chocolate raisins. Tilting the small box downwards while opening his mouth, he let the sweets roll onto his tongue before chewing again.

He then felt the familiar weight of another presence enter his thoughts.

' _ **Why do you persist in tormenting yourself, Zane?**_ **'**

' _What're you talking about, teach?_ ' Zane frowned slightly as he asked.

' _ **You know, boy. The way you inserted yourself among them only to quickly leave them again…**_ **'**

He scoffed softly, ' _And?_ _I've done that a once earlier today already. What's the deal with doing it again just to mess with them?_ '

' _ **Didn't you tell me that you'd try and talk to those two when they were away from everyone else?**_ **'**

A muscle twitched in his arm, his frown deepening.

' _ **Why do you continue to avoid them? To avoid**_ **her** _ **?**_ **'**

Zane's jaw clenched on reflex. Holding off on his response, he turned his attentions towards the three in the courtyard.

His ears picked up the sophomore girl's voice as she went on with her explanation of the connections between the Student Council and Maken Ki; even the origin of the name itself.

He exhaled a faint puff of steam as he listened to the sound of her voice. Even the smooth, soft tone of her voice felt pleasing to hear. It helped to put his mind at ease.

' _It's not like that._ '

He wish he could listen to it forever…

' _ **What's stopping you from talking to her? You had plenty chances to at lease say a few words to her.**_ **'**

Those few times he passed by her throughout the day without her knowing, he would catch her scent. It continued to linger on him, almost smothering him. He had to stop himself from reaching out to her, to graze her soft peach skin.

Being close to her, even if she wasn't aware of it, was almost enough to drive him mad. He dared not to touch her. He didn't want to _break_ her again...

' _I'm… nervous…_ '

' _ **Nervous? Of what? Is it because of that time you had with her before you left for Tenbi?**_ **'**

' _Yeah._ '

'…' the ageless spirit was silent for a few moments before speaking again, **'** _ **Are you afraid that she'll reject you when she finds out the truth?**_ **'**

'… _No._ '

' _ **No?**_ **'**

' _I'm worried that she'll want to_ continue _what was started that day._ '

' _ **Hmm… I see… And with the relationships you have with those dragon-women…**_ **'**

' _I'm still trying to figure out how to approach her. And even if my relationships with Lucoa and the other two were initially less than ideal, I don't think Haruko will understand it that way. She'll think I betrayed her… and I won't blame her. Maybe I should just keep it a secret…_ '

' _ **Don't you think that it would be better tell her now then? What if you're wrong? There's still a chance that she'll take it better than you think. And even then…**_ **'** the voice paused briefly, **'** _ **Don't you think that you should at least allow her to make that decision for herself?**_ **'**

' _What are you even smoking?! Of course she'll_ despise _me for going back on our promise!_ 'Zane leaned his head against the rough bark of the tree as he let out a long breath through his nostrils, ' _…You're right. Maybe… maybe it would be better if she hated me._ '

He brought his hands into his vision. The smooth leather material of his gloves crinkled as he flexed his fingers before balling them tightly into fists.

' _These hands…_ '

A memory passed through his mind as fast as lightning and he once more saw these very same hands bruised, burned and caked in dried blood. The image then vanished just as quickly as it came.

' _These hands are no longer capable of being gentle._ '

Sensing his brief inner turmoil, the spirit's voice warned, **'** _ **Zane…**_ **'**

' _I know, I know. Don't dwell._ '

Zane continued to watch on while periodically bringing his attention towards the figure in the tree he was leaning against. "Plus, there's also _her_." 'Her' being the short blond girl sitting among the branches above him.

The spirit girl from this morning, Kodama Himegami. And one of the reasons why he was in the courtyard as well.

' _ **Ah, that spirit from earlier.**_ **'** As Zane observed from below, even the entity within him can tell what her motivation was for being here, **'** _ **She must be quite stubborn, even after your warning for her to stay away from Takeru.**_ **'**

Zane snorted quietly, ' _Persistence is a fool's death wish after all, but, something is different. I don't feel any malevolent intent coming from her this time. Oh well…_ ' He pushed off the trunk and spared one more glance towards the three people closest to him before walking off, hands in pockets. He'll leave her be this time.

' _From what Takehito told me, if she's been at this school for a year already without having caused any trouble for other students, then she's not an evil spirit._ ' He began to ponder deeply as he walked aimlessly, ' _But what's her weird fascination with Takeru anyways? It's bad enough that all four of them are living together. Poor guy…_ ' Zane shook his head in amusement, ' _Takeru just can't catch a break nowadays it seems. Good thing I'm here to have his back again._ '

He continued his little stroll before hearing a commotion in the distance. Some students began running by him towards the source over by the main campus gate. ' _Hmm. I guess I better check it out._ '

With his presence still concealed, he jogged casually to the gathering crowd.

…

 _Meanwhile, within the ring of students…_

Three figures stood the stone path as many male and female students gathered around, inadvertently forming a pseudo arena. Two of the larger figures were both young male students, though, one of them was arguably the largest person compared to all of the students attending. The last figure was a young sophomore girl standing confidently across from the two boys.

Excited whispers and gossip travelled among the spectators.

"What's going on? Are those three going to fight or something?"

"I don't know, I think the larger guy said he wanted to go out on a date with that red-haired sophomore girl."

"Isn't that Azuki Shinatsu? She was at the welcoming ceremony yesterday, wasn't she?"

One of the male observers pointed towards the shorter male figure while nudging his fellow classmate.

" _Dude, look! It's that guy from yesterday!_ "

" _Which one?_ "

" _The blonde one! He was the guy who got annihilated in the mock battle with Zane Oyama!_ "

The blonde boy's ear visibly twitched when he heard the two freshmen talking about him. He briefly turned his head in their direction, glancing at them and the other students around them with his usual uncaring expression. This caused the two boys and a few others around them to clam up instantly in fear of incurring the ripped teen's wrath.

Shogo Kitsukawa turned away from the gathering crowd seeing as nothing in particular held any interest for him. ' _Most of the other people here are so… weak._ '

Bringing a hand out his pants pocket, he popped another stick of gum into his mouth and began chewing before placing both of his hands back into his pockets.

"So let me get this straight, you want to fight _me_ just go out on a date with me?" Azuki crossed her arms under her chest as she asked the large teen standing across from her. She then turned her eyes towards the blond freshman standing off at the side, "And why is he here too? Are too weak to handle things by yourself?"

Shogo merely raised a brow as he was brought into the conversation.

Kai Kuragasa blushed a bit as he tilted his hat down to cover his eyes, "When you put it that way, it does _kinda_ sound strange. But," he raised a closed fist towards her, "I always had a thing for strong women, I can help myself when I see one with a powerful fighting spirit." ' _That's one of the reasons anyway…_ '

"So I thought I'd prove my strength to you and have you become my lover!" Kai concluded his short speech.

Azuki let out a brief chuckle, "I think you're trying a bit to hard here, big guy." She then gestured to the stocky blond behind Kai, "And him?"

"Oh, he's just here as an observer," he glanced towards the quiet teen, "Isn't that right, aniki?"

* _Pop*_

"Sure, whatever." Shogo shrugged as he continued to chew on his gum, seemingly uninterested.

"Well okay then." Azuki said while shrugging herself. As she began to take out her fighting gloves and tightening them she went on to say, "If that's your wager, then I'll make mine. If I win, you will never come at me with that old school, macho-man romantic shit again, got it?"

Kai nodded, "I'll accept those terms." ' _Finally… I can show you just how strong I've become since that day, Shogo._ '

"Whoa, whoa! Hold on you crazy kids. Who said you could start this party without me, huh?"

As if a bolt of lightning ran through them, Azuki, Shogo, and Kai all tensed when they felt an oppressive and intense presence suddenly bear it's weight on them; Kai felt the brunt of it especially. It felt as if the temperature of the air around them grew hotter. Their hair stood on end when they also felt unseen eyes gaze upon them.

Cold, predatory, and insatiable. The three students felt like defenseless deer in the presence of a hungry lion; stalking them, prowling, waiting for them to show even the _slightest_ _hint_ of weakness.

This feeling… it sparked something deep down within them – telling to run, to get away as far as they could. They did everything that they could to resist that primal urge, because they knew if they ran away now…

…It would only incur something much worse.

Shogo, being the first one to break away from his fear-induced deeper instincts, looked towards the source of the intense presence. His eyes widened as he felt the immediate rush of his blood flowing through him. He flexed his muscles in anticipation; he had been wanting to pay this man back for his loss the yesterday. He called out to the larger teen.

"Kai! He's standing on your head, you idiot!"

The shout caused Azuki to look up as well towards the larger teen as well. She was left astonished, "How in the… hell?"

The other surrounding students seemed to finally register the sudden appearance of the new figure as well. Some shouted in surprise while others remained speechless.

Kai couldn't hear closest friend nor the other students as they shouted at him. He couldn't hear any of it. The only thing that made him coherent to the world around him was the feeling and the sound of his own heart, pounding against his ribcage. Cold sweat broke out on his scalp and forehead, dripping down profusely.

He could at least tell where the extra weight on him was coming from now.

"Kai Kuragasa…"

Hesitantly, he tilted his head and eyes skywards and he felt the weight on he head shift to both of his shoulders. He could tell that the pressure was from the two steel-tipped shoes on both sides of his head. His eyes widened as his brain worked into overdrive.

"I hear that you're quite tough. You won't mind if I… tested that, **would you?** "

Zane stared right back down at Kai with an almost sinister, hungry grin.

The boy felt as though he was already in the maw of the great lion, it's teeth waiting to chomp down on his flesh.

…

 _ **To be continued…**_

 _ **AN: There you go! Another chapter! Yay!**_

 _ **Sorry for the wait, once again. For those who don't know already, lately I've been going back through my earlier chapters and making a few changes and re-edits to make them better. So if you get an update**_

 _ **Plus the fact that I'm anxious for Destiny 2 Forsaken in a few days! My boys and girls, things are going to get quite exciting in the several days.**_

 _ **I've also hit my 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **chapter milestone finally and I am considering making another story. I'm torn on what to make though.**_

 _ **Should I make a High School DxD fic, or a Bleach fic, or a Overlord fic, or even a Fairy Tail one?**_

 _ **Aw man I'm so torn on what to do next! I sometime hate choices…**_

 _ **Oh well, feel free to let me know on you think I should do next in your review.**_

 _ **Until next time.**_


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